Harrison, L.A. 2026. Listening to the space: A methodology for creating an immersive soundscape in a concrete bunker, a practice-based perspective. The Global Composition 2026: Connective Resonance for (Post)Humans. Dieburg and Darmstadt, Germany 03 - 06 Sep 2026
| Title | Listening to the space: A methodology for creating an immersive soundscape in a concrete bunker, a practice-based perspective |
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| Authors | Harrison, L.A. |
| Type | Conference paper |
| Abstract | In 2025 Lost Text/Found Space staged a site sympathetic production of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away in Ambika P3. Lost Text/Found Space specialise in site-based performances and through their work they have developed distinctive methodologies for working in and responding to space. The production was critically acclaimed and nominated for 6 Fringe Theatre awards including for sound for Lucy Ann Harrison’s work.
Far Away is a dystopian play in three acts. Each act is a different episode in the life of Joan who goes from being a child seeing something awful at her aunt’s house, working in a hat factory for a sinister government and fighting in a war with and against nature. The production used a promenade staging with interstitial vignettes which supported audience movement around the space. Ambika P3 is a 1300m2 former concrete testing hall in London. The space is built from concrete and has varied ceiling heights. There are two main rooms, one with a high ceiling and one with a low ceiling made from corrugated iron. The space includes ambient industrial sounds such as generators, plumbing and air conditioning. The result of this is a resonant, pingy, space that always has a low industrial hum.
This paper will address approaches taken to build a fully immersive soundscape, through listening to and responding to the space leading to non-conventional speaker placement and non-traditional sound mixing practices more akin to practices in video game environments. It will discuss how the sound from the space was used to develop an immersive soundscape using the environmental sound from the space processed to bridge the divide between the real world and the world of the performance. These elements will be brought together to outline a methodology for creating immersive audio work in architecturally unusual spaces.
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| Keywords | immersive theatre |
| site sympathetic practice | |
| composition practice | |
| sound and architecture | |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | The Global Composition 2026: Connective Resonance for (Post)Humans |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 03 Sep 2026 |
| Web address (URL) of conference proceedings | https://wfae.net/publications/ |
| Web address (URL) | https://wfae.net/the-global-composition-2026/ |