A sonic essay using Artificial Intelligence and deep listening to map the atmospheres of an evolving city.
Caroline Claus is a Brussels-based urban planner, sound artist, and researcher whose practice focuses on the use of vibration and site-specific listening to redefine how we perceive urban space. Her work moves between sociology, planning, and design, studying how a critical engagement with sonic environments can inform the planning of dynamic and resilient sites. CDA SONIC DRIFT (2025) is an audio essay that listens into Brussels-North, an area undergoing significant transition. The work is the result of an AI-powered sonic geographic dérive that traces three alluring “sonic figures,” recorded from two complementary vantage points: rooftop loggers, that monitor the district’s acoustic horizon, filtering speech (to satisfy GDPR) while retaining distant traffic and airflow; street-level field recording, that captures the textures and utterances that define everyday sonic proximity.
Each geo- and time-coded recording is processed using Urban-Sound Separation (USS) and Audio-Emotion Recognition (AER) to mark each figure’s emergence and withdrawal, and to identify moments of perceived acoustic discomfort. The resulting data is then plotted on GIS layers (Geographic Information System) to speculate on how forthcoming densification policies might reshape the local soundscape.
The installation is conceived as a small studio workspace. Three hand-cut acetate dubplates (one for each space of observation) rest on a modular headphone deck; visitors can cue, loop, or reverse them. The gradual wear of the acetate mirrors the area’s uncertain future. GIS prints surround the deck, open to annotation, encouraging the listener to compare their own observations with the algorithmic reading. Here, sound operates as both an analytical critique and a speculative proposition, presenting Brussels-North as a constellation of differential sonic atmospheres, open to critical interrogation and imaginative reconfiguration through the ongoing act of listening.
BIO
Caroline Claus holds a PhD in Architecture from KU Leuven. Her research employs art-driven cartographic methods and sonic ethnography to translate auditory experience into knowledge useful for urban planning. She has actively contributed to the planning of urban railway sites and supported organizations in community-led public-space redesigns.
CREDITS
A project by Caroline Claus, PhD, artist – researcher in sound studies and planning and design research
Developed as part of a ReSilence S+T+ARTS Horizon EU Artistic Residency (ReSilence Grant Agreement No. 101070278)
Definition of the conceptual framework, methodology and score for sonic spatial analysis; integration into toolkit design and case study; cartography and GIS; mixed media installation: Caroline Claus, PhD – ReSilence Artist in Residency
(2023-24)
Programming for automated, scheduled, and voice-controlled audio recording; selection and integration of AER and USS algorithms; technical data processing and analysis: CERTH (Georgios Loupas, Paraskevi Kritopoulou, Nefeli Georgakopoulou)
Final mix and mastering: Christophe Albertijn
Vinyl cuts: Dubplate – Lester Michiels
Vinyl sleeve design and print: Chez Rosi – Axel Claeys
Questo progetto fa parte di ReSilence: Future Soundscapes & Affect Mining in Urban Ecosystems, la mostra che raccoglie gli esiti di quindici residenze artistiche internazionali promosse da S+T+ARTS (l’iniziativa della Commissione Europea per scienza, tecnologia e arti). Attraverso l’esplorazione artistica del suono, RESILENCE ridefinisce gli spazi urbani, usando la dimensione acustica per analizzare le complesse relazioni affettive ed ecologiche delle città future e promuovere una consapevolezza collettiva su ciò che accade oltre l’apparenza del semplice rumore. La mostra è presentata in collaborazione con BASE, nell’ambito di FAROUT Festival 2025.