Mcmaster Nuo Chen

Our project explores the theme of everyday mobility on campus, telling the story of a student’s day from arriving by bus to studying, eating, and heading home. Listeners move through the bus stop, library path, quiet study area, MUSC food court, and crosswalks, hearing buses, footsteps, pages turning, food preparation, cashier sounds, and traffic to experience the campus through sound.

Our Sound Walk proposal presents the campus's common soundscapes in diverse ways. This route extends from Whidden Hall to the Health Sciences Center, focusing on environment, body, and artistry: the melodious notes of a piano intertwined with the creak of automatic doors, footsteps ascending stairs, the hum of elevators, and the whoosh of sliding doors. These sounds reveal the multifaceted ways in which different bodies on campus gain or face limitations in their freedom of movement. A second dimension—the roar of engines, screeching brakes, and announcements at the corner bus stop—links campus mobility to the broader urban pulse. These paths remind Sound Walk participants that soundscapes are not only about access rights but also weave into everyday experience.By foregrounding sound as art, the walk also demonstrates how listening practices reveal the dynamic interplay between environment and human mobility. In doing so, it aligns with course discussions about the aesthetic, bodily, and environmental dimensions of movement while grounding them in McMaster’s lived campus experience.

“Step into the McMaster Student Center’s soundscape, where architecture, movement, and accessibility converge in everyday life. Listen for the hum of foot traffic, clicks of automatic doors, and overlapping conversations—each a clue to how people navigate this space. Walk carefully, be mindful of physical obstacles, and keep your device volume balanced so you don’t miss real-world cues.”

Listen to audio recordings of unique places around McMaster University, as a student would explore these special places on a tour.

This soundwalk is designing for people who have social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder. It’s when people fear of crowds and get anxious in public space. In this piece of work, I try to relate to how I personally perceive the environment and to create a sense of me as a companion to the audience.

Thank you for joining our cause, agent. Things on campus aren't as they seem. Follow the GPS coordinates on your phone, and listen to our instructions. Things may not make sense now, but they will in time. (Start at the south entrance of the Student Centre)

This is the best part of Mac! Listen to find out why!

I don't know what this is about. Can you figure it out?

The sound walk from McMaster bus stop to Starbucks in Student Center.