289By virtue of its form, size, surfaces and materials, every
built space has a specific ambient sound. This is influenced by
reverberations, reflections, the selective amplification or at-
tenuation of certain sound spectra, allowing it to sound harsh,
muffled or sonorous, thereby endowing it with an integral
character that is not communicated through differentiated vi-
sion. Through our movements in space, our step on the floor-
ing, the sounds we make when opening a door or through
other activities, the sonic traits of a room are activated via the
various vibration behaviours and the resonance of materials
and surfaces. The characteristic acoustic traits of a building,
its vibrations, the creaking of beams, the whistling of the wind
etc., and the sounds produced by individual elements, i.e.
the whirring of an elevator, the falling shut of a door, or the
rustling of curtains, contribute to its sonic character, as does
the immission of various locally typical noises. Rooms can
be distinguished, divided and zoned on the basis of various
sound characteristics. Through contrasts, acoustic character-
istics can be enhanced, for example when a room with muted
acoustics suddenly opens into one with marked reverbera-
tions, or when we step from noisy surroundings into a quiet
room, so that our own steps underscore the effect of stillness.
Conveyed via > appeals, contents such as intimacy, sobri-
ety or sublimity are transported together with sonic charac-
ter, and corresponding forms of behaviour are suggested. The
typical acoustics of church interiors, for example, in conjunc-
tion with their reverberations and lighting schemes, shape the
situation as a whole, demanding appropriate forms of speech
(or song). In outdoor spaces, the sonic design resources of
garden and landscape architecture include the crunch of
gravel, the babbling, gurgling or murmuring of water, the rus-
tling of leaves from various types of trees. Urban spaces, pas-
sages and streets, as well as entire city districts, towns, land-
scapes and regions have their own acoustic characters.
Sound is capable of linking spaces, of creating connec-
tions between inside and outside via the walls and their open-