Acoustic Form Finding with Grasshopper

Comment

Comment by Indrit Alushani on February 6, 2014 at 4:07pm

This is some exciting stuff, for me at least

I'm currently pursuing my thesis in a similar trajectory whereby I am trying to design a space that performs acoustically by implementing the right materials and geometry for an electronic dance music performance. I think it's an area that has a lot to be explored. Would really like to see more things you guys upload. I will be uploading some of my own stuff in the near future.

Cheers

Comment by lmnts on February 5, 2013 at 9:38am

We're just starting to get into this but here are two links to some of the material that I've been reading:

http://www.odeon.dk/ray-tracing

http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/waves/soundwav.htm#A

Our next step is to work on getting something like the scattering coefficients incorporated into the setup.  I'm also thinking it might be useful to "blur" the meshes to simplify the detail when analyzing the reflections for lower frequencies.  

The experience we've had with acoustics for performance halls has seemed a bit like black magic at times because we don't fully grasp what is in play.  Our goal is to generate design sketches and diagrams that we can discuss with our acoustical consultant and hopefully glean a better understanding of how to improve our design.

Comment by David Rutten on February 5, 2013 at 6:06am

Are there reliable algorithms for simulating sound?

Comment by lmnts on February 4, 2013 at 12:53pm

Not exactly.  Raytracing is often used as a shorthand for calculating reflections.  The actual interaction of sound with surfaces is a bit more complicated because of the relationship of wavelengths to size of reflecting surfaces.  

Comment by David Rutten on February 4, 2013 at 12:45pm

Does sound really bounce that predictably off surfaces?