Wie klingt es an Orten, wo es um Krankheit und Gesundwerden geht? Was brauchen die Räume im Krankenhaus an Gestaltung? Wie können Klänge das Wohlbefinden fördern? Mit diesen Fragen laden wir dazu ein, die Welt der Healing Soundscapes zu erkunden.

Mit den Open Lecture Series öffnet das ligeti zentrum ein Forum, um mit internationalen Fachkolleg.innen in spannenden Vorträgen die Themen der verschiedenen Laboratorien aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven zu beleuchten und mit dem Publikum zu diskutieren.

Healing Soundscapes sind gesundheitsförderliche Klangumgebungen, die unter dem Einfluss künstlerisch und raumbezogen gestalteter Musical Soundscape Interventions (MSI) entstehen. Das Healing Soundscapes Projekt entwickelt und erforscht raumbezogene Klanginterventionen für sensible Krankenhausbereiche. Ziel ist es, die klangliche Umgebung (die „Soundscape“) so zu gestalten, dass sich das Wohlbefinden von Patient.innen und Mitarbeitenden in den Räumen verbessert.

16.10.24: Antti Ikonen – Friendly Sounds in Children’s Hospital

The New Children’s Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, is equipped with a specially designed soothing soundscape. The soundscape can be heard in the hospital’s waiting areas, selected corridors, parking garage and elevators, and it’s a permanent part of the interior of the hospital. The soundscape is generative, so it never repeats itself the same. One computer with an audio engine is feeding 60 discreet audio channels over the hospital’s IT network.

The goal of the added sounds is to improve the comfort of child patients and reduce the tension when visiting a hospital and waiting for treatment and examinations. The sounds aim at providing a small respite, so that the young patients’ thoughts can escape to moments of play experienced in nature or imaginary worlds.

The soundscape is a combination of nature sounds and musical elements. The subtle sonic ornaments give the opportunity to experience the hospital environment in a different way. The soundscape reflects the fairytale-like visuals of the hospital premises, without forgetting research on how sounds, especially from nature, evoke thoughts and memories.

The impact of the soundscape was investigated with surveys and interviews. Questionnaires were used to survey the experiences of the hospital staff, the child patients, and their carers in the bed wards. The experiences of the outpatients and their carers were investigated with individual and group interviews.

According to the research the experience of the child patients and their carers was almost entirely positive. The soundscape increases comfort, reduces stress and tension, and supports the feeling of care and safety. For the patients in the bed wards the soundscape offers a safe channel to nurture an emotional connection to the world outside the hospital. The responses of the outpatients highlighted the relaxing effect of the sound world.

The soundscape will be updated during 2024 after careful analysis of the feedback.

Antti Ikonen , Department of Art and Media, Faculty Member; Aalto University, Finland

Antti Ikonen (b. 1963) is a composer, sound designer and Senior University Lecturer at Aalto University. His work covers music and sound design for a wide range of media, performances and works of art, including contemporary dance, theatre, short films, radio plays, art installations and new media. The soundscape designed for Helsinki New Children’s Hospital was awarded with Grand Prix in International Sound Awards 2019. Since 1990s Ikonen has been teaching in academic institutions in Finland. In 2008 Ikonen founded Sound in New Media MA degree programme which is currently part of Aalto University.

More information:

https://aalto-fi.academia.edu/AnttiIkonen

Dies ist eine Veranstaltung des ligeti zentrums in Kooperation mit HOOU und MMKH. Wir bedanken uns für die freundliche Unterstützung!

Alle Termine:

• 04.09.24: Andrew Rossetti – Environmental Music Therapy (EMT): Modulating Soundscapes in the Hospital Environment
• 16.10.24: Antti Ikonen – Friendly Sounds in Children’s Hospital
• 18.11.24: Marie Koldkjær Højlund – Multisensory artwork and soundscapes in the hospital – an attuning approach in healthcare design
• 22.01.25: noch offen
• 19.02.25: Peter Androsch – Luft, Luft, Luft
• 19.03.25: Tanja Vollmer – Die Heilenden Sieben: Wie die Sinneswahrnehmung im Krankenhaus die Genesung beeinflusst