The Market Square as a Sonic Space. Transdisciplinary Exploration of Two Squares in Colombia

Abstract

The article details the process of creating the sound piece iCLO-dBOG, the result of research focused on the acoustic identity of two marketplaces in Colombia and their relationship with the architectural and urban space they occupy. It is framed within research-creation as a mode of artistic production related to interdisciplinary academic processes of formal research from art, architecture, and design. The article describes how spatial analysis and documentary material obtained from field recordings were used for the composition of the piece. Through a methodology that integrated research findings with the creative process, the aim was to express the identity of the squares in a sonic narrative. This involved guiding the listener from a referential listening experience, recognizing typical sounds of traditional commercial practices, to a reduced listening experience, where sounds, laden with causal meanings, were intervened live from two computers and separated from their figurative reference to highlight their plastic qualities. Technological mediation reveals low-level acoustic qualities such as amplitude, frequency, and timbre, expressing the sonic metabolism that takes the listener from the memory of physical space to the purely aesthetic plane where identity is expressed through acoustic attributes of its architecture. This creation aims to transform the listener's experience from passive listening, where space is recognised from familiar sounds, to an active listening that invites aesthetic discernment and a deeper appreciation of the acoustic identity of the studied marketplaces.