The implementation of the research and teaching project ‘Analysis of the education process, scientific research and design in the context of responding to social needs, ecology and business partners’ with the participation of Jordan Lacey, PhD from RMIT University, Melbourne (Australia) ended on 30 December 2023. Jordan Lacey, PhD visited the University of Silesia at the invitation of Małgorzata Kądziela, PhD and the Cultural Theory and History Research Team from the USil Institute of Culture Studies.
Jordan Lacey, PhD is a transdisciplinary practitioner and researcher specialising in sound theory, soundscape design, and the creation of public art sound installations. During his academic career, he became known as an innovator in the field of creative research on sound and the design of urban soundscapes. His book Sonic Rupture: A Practice-Led Approach to Urban Soundscape Design (2016) has had a significant impact on thinking and practice in the field of urban landscapes. In his second book Urban Roar: A Psychophysical Approach to the Design of Affective Environments (2022), J. Lacey, PhD develops a new, philosophical approach to artistic practice, integrating affect theory and sound research with Deleuze’s ‘Jungian turn’.
Jordan Lacey, PhD has been the recipient of two significant research grants: a Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016-2018) at RMIT University, as part of which he completed two significant industry-funded projects aimed at developing new thinking and practice in sound placemaking, and an Australian DECRA Scientific Council Award (2019–2022), as part of which he developed the theory and practice of biophilic sound design, exploring the possibilities of combining natural sounds and plants with urban installations. He curated the exhibition ‘Translating Ambiance’ at Yarra Sculpture Gallery (2019), a project with 12 local and international artists testing the idea of translating the experiences of natural environments into urban spaces. This work formed the basis of the permanent urban sound installation ‘Sonic Gathering Place’ in central Melbourne.
Jordan Lacey, PhD is an associate editor of the Journal of Sonic Studies, a regular reviewer for academic publications at Routledge, Rowman and Littlefield in Bloomsbury, and a number of academic journals, including Loci Communes published by the University of Silesia.
From 8 to 15 November 2023, Jordan Lacey, PhD was hosted at the USil Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology (SUT) in Gliwice. During his visit—and together with employees of both Faculties—Jordan Lacey, PhD participated in scientific research aiming at an initial verification of a methodology for object and spatial design in terms of soundscape for the purpose of specifying soundscape properties crucial for people with special needs (including the oversensitive ones, having cognitive dysfunctions, with autism spectrum, ADHD, and suffering from neurodegenerative disorders). The verification of the designed research tools was carried out to make it possible to implement these spaces in cultural contexts outside Europe. The methodology is verified for the purpose of a planned international grant application, aiming at developing implementation projects for business institutions (Jordan Lacey, PhD is one of the members of the developing team). Consequently, the entirety of the research process featured business representatives, i.e. its potential beneficiaries; thus, subsequent forms of international collaboration in terms of scientific research, educational process and business collaboration have been suggested.
During the consultations with scientific employees and academic staff of the SUT Faculty of Architecture and the USil Faculty of Humanities, the team was analysing plans for changes in the curriculum stemming from the implementation of a new model of studies at the University of Silesia in terms of, e.g., introducing courses in musical practice and issues of shaping a pro-health and inclusive soundscapes in urban space.
Students of both Faculties attended a seminar dedicated to writing diploma theses and workshops during which they analysed the possibilities of applying multimedia to the practice of soundscape and video game design.
Together with scientific employees and students of both Faculties, a publication has been prepared devoted to the contemporary challenges of designing in its broad sense. The work Design: Visions, Revisions, Challenges co-directed by Jordan Lacey, PhD will be published by the publishing house of the SUT Faculty of Architecture.
Part of consultations dedicated to employees and students taking part in the project was individualised and adjusted to the needs of particular participants.
An open lecture ‘A new materialist investigation of singing bowls’ by Jordan Lacey, PhD took place on 16 November 2023 at 1.00 p.m. He presented evidence that none of the bowls in question have either sound or spiritual roots. He presented a performative research process activating the sound materiality of singing bowls, showing the potential of new materialist approaches to grounding spiritual discourse.
The second lecture ‘Sonic rupture as a tool for urban placemaking’ took place on the same day at 5.00 p.m. The meeting featured a presentation of the series of urban installations designed by Lacey in the context of landscape transformation.
‘Analysis of the education process, scientific research and design in the context of responding to social needs, ecology and business partners. Project in cooperation with Jordan Lacey, PhD (School of Design, RMIT Melbourne, Australia)’ was financed by Metropolis GZM under the ‘Metropolitan Science Support Fund’ programme in 2022-2024.
Jordan Lacey, PhD from RMIT University, Melbourne | Photo by Małgorzata Kądziela, PhD