The SCM Research Colloquium takes place approximately once a month for graduate students, faculty and professionals from creative media and other related disciplines to present their recent research topic/project. The colloquium offers a great opportunity for ideas exchange and intellectual conversations about one’s work. Each session will feature two speakers, a graduate student/guest speaker and a faculty member.

Each presentation is about 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes open discussion. Seminar introduction and Q&A will be hosted by Prof. Espen Aarseth or Prof. Richard Allen. No registration is needed and light refreshments are provided.

Seminar 3

26 November 2024, 3:30 p.m – 5:30 p.m

Yue Ran: Soundscape and Smellscape in Hong Kong Public Spaces: A Case Study on Mong Kok Footbridge

Recent studies on Hong Kong's public spaces have focused on inclusivity and equity in urban design, environmental sustainability, and human well-being. However, research from the sensory perspective, such as studies on urban noise and audiovisual interactions, are not enough. The Mong Kok pedestrian footbridge was selected as the research site to explore how people perceive the soundscape and smellscape in such a high-density area (~130,000 residents per square kilometre), with servicescapes of markets, street food, and intense traffic. This talk will detail the sensewalking method employed in the research, discuss how people's perceptions of soundscape and smellscape influence their evaluation of overall environmental quality, and examine how perceptions vary across different locations along the route and among people with different identity characteristics. Furthermore, from a multi-sensory perspective, the talk will propose recommendations for future design possibilities of Mong Kok pedestrian footbridges.

PerMagnus Lindborg: Soundscape and Smellscape as Sensory Heritage

The sensory cultural heritage, combining tangible and intangible heritage, creates identity and cohesion in a community. In urban research, analysis of everyday-ish and informal customs typically rely on visual images, texts, and archival materials, to describe the multifarious aspects of culturally significant places and practices. By contrast, the acoustic environment is often not part of the narrative, and very rarely is the olfactory environment recorded. Given the contemporary context of rapid and profound transformation in Hong Kong, essential threads of the city fabric risk being neglected, and might even disappear before they can be documented. Can we really claim to know urban places without thoroughly considering, and documenting, the sensory cultural heritage represented by sounds and smells? Multimodal Hong Kong (MMHK, https://mmhk.scm.cityu.edu.hk/) is a GRF-funded project that started in January 2023.

In this talk, I will discuss our objectives and ongoing development of a field work methodology. MMHK aims to build a database of soundscape and smellscape at culturally significant sites. Data collection methods include Ambisonics audio, 360 ̊ video, and 'smellprints', together with on-site observations. Currently having data from 25 sites, MMHK aims to reach 100 within the project’s duration, as well as to conduct sensory walks, interviews, and workshops with stakeholders. The overall goal is to produce in-depth knowledge of how soundscape and smellscape contribute to the perceived quality of places, and thence, support sensory cultural heritage in Hong Kong. This knowledge will enable future applications in urban spatial design, experiencescape, and virtual tourism.