Work











Music for spaces
















Master’s thesis project
Politecnico di Milano
Supervisor: Frank Clementi
Sound | space
Individual project
2026 Can sound define space? This project investigates the architectural potential of digital sound, treating music as a primary building material. Through two twin installations, the sonic evolution shapes the spatial experience, translating acoustic atmospheres into the physical dimension. The work is rooted in a rigorous spatial and technical investigation that bridges the study of physical space with its acoustic potential, culminating in the production of a new soundscape conceived exclusively for this intervention. Ultimately, the synthesis of the musical project and the spatial design reveals qualities that neither discipline could express alone.

























Locations





     The project sites were selected among existing spaces, allowing the design to focus exclusively on the sonic component. Two antithetical spaces were chosen — one urban, one suburban — defining two opposite contextual conditions brought into dialogue through the design of sound.
Serre Pasino, Varedo
Tunnel, Milano Centrale










Location analysis





flows analysis
fast pace - transit
flows analysis
slow pace - dwelling
material analysis
reflective environment
material analysis
dispersive environment
acoustic atmosphere
acoustic compression
acoustic atmosphere
acoustic dispersion
I analyzed various aspects of the two selected sites to understand movement within the spaces and their acoustic perception. The study examined pedestrian flows, the nature of materials and their acoustic behavior, and finally, the resulting sonic atmosphere that characterizes both locations.











Concept





The sonic behaviour within each space was defined through five sonic states, each indicating a specific acoustic behaviour and a corresponding mode of spatial perception through sound. These states are applied in rotation across the two sites, generating a living sonic landscape in continuous evolution.











Technical implementation





system implementation (excerpt) - tunnels
cable routing plans (excerpt) - tunnels
system implementation (excerpt) - tunnels
system implementation (excerpt) - tunnels
system implementation (excerpt) - glasshouses
cable routing plans (excerpt) - glasshouses
system implementation (excerpt) - glasshouses
system implementation (excerpt) - glasshouses
To ensure the project's feasibility, a system of sound propagation devices was designed for both sites, enabling the definition of different acoustic behaviors. This technical phase involved selecting devices based on their sound dispersion characteristics and required frequency ranges. These devices were then strategically positioned within the spaces, with the entire infrastructure custom-designed for both locations.











Spatial atmospheres






The five sonic states define the types of acoustic-spatial perception explored throughout the project: 
Diffusion; Dynamism; Focus; Saturation; Silence.
The following drawings illustrate the movement and spatiality of sound across the two sites.












01 | Diffusion





The Diffuse State manifests as a homogeneous propagation of sound. It works with the invisible properties of architecture, defining an enveloping spatial matter that fills architectural volumes. Digital sound processing — such as phase synchronisation and artificial reverberation — is applied in certain cases to shape spatial perceptions of compression or amplitude. 

Within one of the glasshouses, this diffuse state was processed so that sound completely envelops anyone within the space. This was achieved through the Haas effect, a psychoacoustic phenomenon where a phase difference of a few milliseconds between playback devices makes it impossible to precisely localise the sound source.
glasshouse A - diffuse state plan - Haas effect implementation
glasshouse A - diffuse state - atmospheric representation












02 | Dynamism 





tunnels - dynamic state plans
tunnels - dynamic state plans
tunnels - dynamic state plans
tunnels - dynamic state plans
tunnels - dynamic state plans
Sound inhabits the space as a moving agent. Designed according to the characteristics of each space, it becomes a dynamic component of a static architecture — introducing a narrative or emphasising the qualities of spatial perception and circulation.

Sound travels across the different playback devices within the space, following temporal dynamics tailored to the desired spatial experience. For instance, within the tunnel environments, sound acts as a kinetic agent; through its velocity, it shapes perceptions of acceleration or deceleration while traversing the long underground corridors.





tunnels - dynamic state -  atmospheric representation











03 | Focus





Sound becomes structure. Through the use of parametric devices, acoustic matter is designed as a new architecture that invades the existing one, redefining its spatial conception. These invisible structures act as foreign elements that fragment or reconfigure the original spatial perception.

Within the tunnels, sound settles into the space as new architectural elements, defining sonic walls, new thresholds, and compression points. In the glasshouses, conversely, sound engages in a direct dialogue with the architecture, accentuating or altering its specific characteristics.
tunnels - focus state plans






tunnels - focus state - atmospheric representation












04 | Saturation





glasshouses - saturation state plan
glasshouses - saturation state plan
glasshouses - saturation state plan
Saturation marks the moment of maximum acoustic and spatial pressure. The three preceding states are simultaneously active, filling the volumes and enveloping the listener in a dense sonic mass.
glasshouse A- saturation state - atmospheric representation













05 | Silence





The silence phase is conceived as a moment of architectural void. The spaces of both sites are emptied of the acoustic mass that had filled them during the saturation phase. This creates a phase of acoustic and spatial decompression, where the ambient sounds naturally belonging to these places are brought to the foreground, placing their core essence back at the center of the spatial listening experience.
tunnels - silence state
glasshouse - silence state












The soundscape





The project features six distinct soundscapes developed from the sampling of six environmental sounds. These include three natural sounds (frogs croaking, a flowing stream, and birdsong) and three artificial sounds (the hum of a neon lamp, a street sweeper, and the beep of Milan subway turnstiles). Each sample was processed, altered, and integrated with musical textures of similar tonality to define the six soundscapes that compose the project's sonic environment. The six audio tracks of 40 minutes each were then entirely transcribed using a custom-developed graphic notation system.












graphic score: track 02 (stream)
graphic score: track 06 (turnstiles)