SOUNDBLOCK

 Soundblock is an interactive sound installation designed for the city of Long Beach bi-annual Soundwalk art exhibition as part of an extensive practice based research and design project undertaken in the Informatics department at University of California, Irvine under the guidance of Paul Dourish.   The technical component of the project takes the form of an interactive urban probe, designed to provoke and elicit community response and feedback with respect to the ambient soundscape in the Long Beach Art District.  The digital urban probe supported an extensive ethnographic study of the neighborhood which included observation and conversations with various business owners and community members to record sound samples of the area which were then replayed during the Soundwalk Event.  Reflection of the project is the basis for the final chapter of a Masters Thesis on the complimentary use of situated technology and ethnographic research to inspire art, architectural and human centered design interventions in the city.