Through the design of soundscape installations for three historical museum
buildings, we explore how sonic placemaking may be used to reveal intangible cultural
heritage. We build on Harrison and Dourish’s distinction between space and place, and
Jordan Lacey’s definition of sonic placemaking to understand soundscape design as a
process of creating places that support sensory connection between the museum
guest and museum space, hereby enabling new experiences. We apply design space
thinking as the approach to systematize and explore how distinct design choices affect
the intended sonic placemaking. Through an interdisciplinary approach that spans
interaction design and sound studies, we investigate how the design space is explored
through a series of design activities addressing sonic placemaking. Hereby, we identify
three design aspects unique to sonic placemaking: Types of Sound, Listening Attention
and Spatiality of Listening.