Struer Sound Manual

  • Struer Sound Manual

    In collaboration with Struer Municipality and Jacob Kreutzfeldt, leader of the sound art festival Struer Tracks, we have developed a sound manual for the "City of Sound", Struer. The manual is available (in danish) here.

Sound Manual for Struer Center suggests tools and approaches on how to think through sound in planning and designing city centers

Like other smaller cities worldwide Struer (of approximately 10.000 inhabitants) is challenged as a centre for shopping and business, as a framework for satisfying everyday life and as a place for inhabitants and visitors to have rich experiences.

In 2013 Struer decided to become The City of Sound, and has since developed a series of policies that activate sound in core areas like business development, health care, culture and urban planning. Our recently ratified Sound Manual for Struer Center suggests some tools and approaches on how to think through sound in planning and designing city centers, and Struer is now in process of becoming a Living Lab for urban sound.

The manual has been approved by the city council, and it is going to be a point of reference through the entire process of planning the design of the city centre.

It is fairly common for municipalities to adopt design manuals or guidelines regarding the future development of a city.
It is entirely new, however, that the city council adopt a sound manual as well.

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The hope is that by having a guidance that enables an active choice with regards to sound in the urban development, it will attract entrepreneurs, planners, and designers turning Struer into a kind of living laboratory concerning urban development using sound. The sound manual gives suggestions on how to bring the city together using sound, and turning it into a place that attracts people and creates recreational spaces.
The conceptual framework
The manual builds on the vision that sound in Struer may be an equally important design parameter as visual and material features. This implies that sound will not be treated as noise in diagnostic approaches, but will rather be treated as an active and positive design parameter. The emphasis in Struer is less about restricting unwanted sound, and more about activating sound in efforts for a lively and stimulating city affording pauses, play, reflection, meetings and stays. The first step in doing this has been to develop and share an accessible conceptual framework, experimental tools and shared experiences in public space. The manual suggests these concepts as a framework for planning with and for sound. It is not meant to suggest hasty application of sound to all urban spaces, rather the manual suggest that given the right consideration sounds can be controlled, supported, attenuated and maybe even applied to support planning intentions.
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