James King and Yumiko Tanaka
February, 2005

	[Application for the BSI Travel awards] What should we do for improve environment?
	Public Announcement System We feel that sound is an undervalued part of the Urban landscape. The fact that it is invisible means that it seldom gets a mention in the guide books and its ephemeral nature means that it must be deliberately and actively archived or else forgotten. Sound archives exist the world over and there are plenty of note. The British Library sound archive is one of the largest in the world and has an extensive collection of discs and tape covering music, literature, drama, oral history and wildlife sound. We feel that there is a notable omission from this list: the everyday sounds heard in the city. So far as we know, there has been no attempt to archive this aspect of the urban landscape. We feel that such a resource would be valuable. However, we are not proposing to start such an archive. This task would involve the resources of a large and well funded institution. Our intention is to explore a small and specific area of the sonic landscape, this being the public announcement. We want to record examples of this from different cities and, by contrasting our findings, form a basis for the design of our own public announcement system.
	Aims of the Research 1. To test our thesis that the sonic landscape of the city is valuable and should be recorded. 2. To find useful techniques and strategies for recording sound in cities. 3. (Interaction Design Year 1) To build a framework for the subsequent design phase.
	Research Criteria We have defined the term 'public announcement' as an oral or audible message delivered indisciminantly to people at an urban loca tion. Our initial research based in London has brought to light these four areas of focus: 1. The message itself: What is being said? Who (or what) is saying it and who is listening? Speakers Corner, Hyde Park is a lively conversational space where the speaker's remarks are rarely accepted. 2. Methods of projecting the voice: making it louder or carry further. Amplification devices, electronic or otherwise: megaphones, tannoys, speakers, shouting. Electronic distribution through radio and networks. Beneficial acoustics of architectural space, for example, the whispering gallery at St Paul's Cathedral. 3. Methods of automating the announcement. Computerised voices; and voice modeling software. Pre-recorded announcements. 4. Sonic Landmarks. 'MIND THE GAP' as spoken by the actor Peter Lodge is a public announcement that has become a London landmark. Are there other such landmarks? Could a sonic landmark be designed?
	Sounds In Public (Sample Sounds) 1. waterloo_station.mp3 (1.1MB) 2. westminster.mp3 (864KB) 3. tube_elevator.mp3 (608KB)