Urban soundscapes in the historic centre of Thessaloniki: sonic architecture and sonic identity

ABSTRACT

This paper shows that contemporary sound in urban areas consists of a fragile equilibrium of sonic territories with high heterogeneity. Sound scenes in urban environments are studied using ecological sound tools, including soundscape ecology and acoustic ecology. This study proposes an interdisciplinary framework that combines quantitative and qualitative sonic and architectural data to analyse, describe and design sonic space. Five territories with distinctive sonic identities in the historic centre of Thessaloniki in Greece were selected and compared with their architectural characteristics. Though these characteristics of Thessaloniki are similar to other cities of Greece, the continuing transformation of urban sonic identities lends importance to this research. The analysis revealed unique information about the identity and urbanity of the territories, challenging the established noise–silence dichotomy and opening up new perspectives on an integrated sustainable urban design.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban soundscape
• architecture
• sonic territories
• interdisciplinarity
• Thessaloniki

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed https://doi.org/10.1080/20551940.2019.1582744.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the academic year 2014–2015 under Grant number 91746.

Notes on contributors

Aimilia Karapostoli

Aimilia Karapostoli is a professional architect having a PhD with a focus on sound, architecture theory and design (2016) and a MA in Museum Studies and Culture Management. She is also a professional flute player since 2004. Currently, she works as a freelancer architect, taking part in architectural, music and art exhibitions, having won numerous awards, and as a researcher having participated in many international and national scientific conferences and research projects. She is also a part-time musician in small experimental bands and music projects.

Nefta-Eleftheria Votsi

Nefta-Eleftheria Votsi is a Postdoctoral Researcher with her expertise lying on nature conservation by integrating approaches of Landscape Ecology and Soundscape Ecology. She is currently a visiting lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as well as the Harokopio University where she’s teaching Cartography-Ecological mapping and Tools of Environmental Management, respectively. She has also received a research grant for postdoctoral research regarding the investigation of an integrated index to mitigate length and noise pollution in urban areas. She has published a considerable number of peer-reviewed academic papers and participated in many international and national scientific conferences.