Taormina acoustics

Classic edition

Taormina · An acoustic study

The acoustics of a changing theatre

What changes in the modelled sound when the architecture changes?

Directed by Yishan Shen; produced with AI coding agents. How the work was made

Roman reconstruction hypothesis (A)

Roman reconstruction hypothesis (A). Oblique presentation of the theatre and layered terrain.

Ruin configuration as simulated (B)

Ruin configuration as simulated (B). Oblique presentation of the theatre and layered terrain.
The two model configurations share a camera and presentation treatment. Surface colours, layered terrain and lighting are display choices, not historical-material or acoustic evidence.Full image AFull image B

The research question

A comparison with the assumptions left in.

The ancient theatre at Taormina, in Sicily, has been rebuilt, adapted, damaged and restored. This study asks how its modelled acoustics differ between a Roman reconstruction hypothesis and a simplified ruin configuration.

Both configurations are generated from stated architectural and material assumptions, then studied with the same ray-acoustic method. The comparison concerns each configuration as a whole; it does not isolate the effect of damage.

The images explain the models. The results present one carefully scoped measure with its conditional uncertainty. Neither is a recording or measurement of the ancient theatre.