Sensory Design: Case studies

Lecture Notes 

Feeling 'at home' or 'out of place'

This lecture included case studies of two libraries. Traditional libraries were designed to avoid noise, this lecture delves into the differences between the design of libraries today. 

New York Library - The Rose Reading Room 

• 15.5 metre ceilings 
• Sonic Landscape 
• Designed to amplify noise
• Feeling small and invisible within the space
• Heavy wooden chairs - noise making behaviours
• The sonic landscape operates as a disciplinary machine - can intimate 
• Not everyone is going to feel comfortable in this space, demands a break from the everyday attitude. 

The Sonic Landscape operates as a disciplinary machine. 

Do you feel at home? 

Seattle Public Library 

• Contemporary design 
• Informal reading rooms - not as discipline as the rose reading room 
• Tuned to noise
• Tall glass ceilings - creating an open and inviting space
• Designed to encourage and accept possible behaviours 
• Tuned to speak to a range of people, permitting discussions 

Feeling 'in place' or 'out of place'

Habitus 

The role of the sense of feeling 'in place' or 'out of place'

• Shaped by our senses 
• Formed by our upbringing 

Sonic Relationship 

• Qualities of the space can expose the lack of belonging 
• Everyone will have different experiences 

Cultural Capital

• Knowing the code of the library 
• Knowing peoples backgrounds 
• Dispositions associated 
• Set of knowledges - 'entry fee' (Pierre Bourdieu)