Sounding Urban Places - Interdisciplinary Research Project
Between January 2024 and December 2025, the lectorate Music, Education & Society participated in this interdisciplinary arts-based research project, building on community engagement in data collection and artistic co-creation with a focus on sound.
The project took place in the framework of Horizon 2020 and JPI Urban Europe and was co-funded by Regieorgaan SIA, part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
The project seeks - on a practical as well as theoretical level - to enable an improved quality of life (for all living beings) in residential areas and public (urban) spaces through a considered artistically inspired (re-)design of the sonic environment. Through cooperation across a diverse interdisciplinary team, ranging from (sound) artists to landscape architects, and from historians and ethnographers to sound studies scholars, the project developed new insights and tools of relevance to such practical and applied fields as urban design and regional development. The research focused on two urban environments in full transformation: the city of Kiruna in Sweden, and the Binckhorst area in The Hague.
Sound Up is a collaboration between Luleå University of Technology (main applicant), Royal Conservatoire The Hague (co-applicant), Leiden University, Soundtrackcity, I'm Binck, and Kluster.
Sound UP - Binckhorst
The Dutch part of the Sound UP project takes places at the Binckhorst area in The Hague, which is currently transforming from an industrial area into a mixed area for working, living, studying and leisure. In this context, the aims of the research projects were:
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Creating a public sonic archive of the Binckhorst with sounds of its past, present, and with audio creations that imagine a possible sounding future.
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Interviewing residents about their sound memories and experiences of the Binckhorst.
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Enhancing awareness of the sounds of the Binckhorst through workshops, soundwalks, and events such as the weekly streaming sessions from hidden Binckhorst locations.
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Creating permanent Audio Walking and Hiking Routes in the Binckhorst, making use of a geo-located audio, and with the integration of recordings of interviews and creative sound works by residents and schoolchildren.
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In collaboration with a local school, the John Dewey College, creating an educational package on sound awareness in the Binckhorst area, to be used by schools and organisations after the grant period.
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The development of sound educational and participatory skills for artists and teachers.
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The publication of refereed journal articles and conference presentations on sound participation and sonic archives.
An overview of all results of the SoundUP research in the Binckhorst can be found here.
