SOUNDMAT : A Sonic and Kinesthetic Tool for Architects

Abstract: This thesis project aims to bring together knowledge and methods from embodied interaction design in order to help architects expand their current repertoire of sketching tools and methods. As argued by Bernard Tschumi (1996) and Juhani Pallasmaa (2012), architecture is a sight-dominated design field, and architects are faced with the paradox of having to design embodied, multisensory experiences with visual means and from a disembodied perspective.  Situated in the genre of physical computing, the outcome of this thesis is the prototype of a sensor-based tool for sketching with sound and kinesthesia. The prototype is primarily targeted to architects, but may also be of interest to professionals from other fields who are involved in space-making, such as interaction designers, artists, scenographers, and interior designers, among others. The findings of this thesis intend to contribute to the field of interaction design, and especially the subfield of embodied interaction. This thesis addresses the aforementioned problem domain, which was first identified when I practiced the profession of architecture, and then further understood during this project, namely during literature review and user research. Building upon three main areas of theory, this project finds its grounding in embodied interaction theory, phenomenological concepts, as well as a contemporary view of the soma as a united self of mind and body. Fieldwork was a very important part of the process, and methods such as interviews, surveys, and cultural proves were employed to ground the project in user research. Ideation mainly consisted of sketching with embodied methods. Lastly, the user testing of a Wizard-of-Oz prototype was essential in assessing and evaluating the final design.