Athens by sound

Architecture is not only that whichis built. Architecture is made up of different aspects, both material andimmaterial. The atmosphere, the sounds, the smells, the possibility ofinteraction between human bodies: these all constitute characteristics ofspace, characteristics that are assuming an increasing importance withinarchitectural research worldwide. Within this field of thought about “ArchitectureBeyond Building”, we focus on one particular non-material spatial phenomenonthat lies ‘beyond the built’: sound. Sound, as the mainelement of this non-conventional mapping of Athens, challenges the limitsbetween the built and the immaterial. Being one of the fundamentalcharacteristics of matter (every material creates its own sound), the sound isdirectly dependent upon the materiality of the built environment: for example,the echo depends on the materiality of, and distances between, materialelements. On the other hand, elusive events, not easily represented, leavesonic traces. Thus the sounds of the city describe events, behaviors, thoughtsand narratives. Could these qualities of sound be employed as an alternativetool for interpreting, mapping, or even designing space?