Sound UP - Interdisciplinary Research Project

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 develops new insights and tools of relevance to such practical and applied fields as urban design and regional development. Additionally, the project is designed to establish new active collaborations with local stakeholders and businesses in order to set this innovative approach in practice, and thereby to contribute tangibly to the green transition and development of sustainable and more attractive living environments.

The research will focus on two urban environments in full transformation: the city of Kiruna in Sweden, and the Binckhorst area in The Hague. The research team focusing on the Binckhorst area consists of Justin Bennett (KC, Sonology), Irene Ruiz Perez Canales (KC, Sonology), Renate Zentschnig (Soundtrackcity), Marcel Cobussen (Leiden University), and Paul Craenen (KC, lector).

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.