Designing 3D immersive locative audio experiences for outdoor heritage sites

Abstract

This is an interdisciplinary, practice-led digital heritage PhD which explores the use of technology, creative practice, and research methods. It presents an innovative, systematic approach to designing 3D immersive locative mobile audio experiences for public engagement in outdoor heritage sites. This project explores the audio content creation, experience design, and public evaluation of two large-scale prototype immersive GPS-triggered mobile audio experiences, entitled ‘The Golden Hours’(2021) and ‘Re/collections’ (2022), built at the urban outdoor heritage site of Brunswick Square, Brighton & Hove, UK. These prototypes are presented to the public through industry partner ‘Echoes’ (echoes.xyz) geolocative soundwalk application, testingambisonics and headtracking. The heritage partner ‘The Regency Town House’(rth.org.uk), a local museum and venue, provided access to archival resources, onsite facilities, and worked as an accessible platform for participant recruitment. The design methodology adopted in this project is applied from conception through to public evaluation of the audio experiences. These prototypes at Brunswick Square were created as iterations, providing an opportunity for essential public evaluation and refinement not normally found in artistic commission works for heritage sites and museums.
This PhD contributes to the field of immersive locative mobile audio experiences, drawing on and adding to discourse on immersive technology, experience design, public engagement, and soundscape composition. The project critically engages with state-of-the-art technology for recording, mixing, and presenting 360-degree heritage specific audio content to the public. It examines the process of audio mapping and implementation, with detailed analysis of public interaction and navigation of the tested audio experiences. The final immersive audio prototype of this project is the first example of a fully 3D and head-tracked outdoor locative heritage-specific audio experience presented on the ‘Echoes’ application, making the soundwalk itself a novel output.
Alongside discussions on prototype development, the reader will gain insight into two key contributions to the ‘process of practice’. The first is the aesthetic and methodological tool ‘sonic bleed’, which seeks to converge the internal and external sound fields of the audio experience, for enhanced heritage site engagement and soundscape participation. The second is the establishment of 24 empirically validated, replicable design recommendations for the development of similar immersive locative audio experiences at other heritage sites. This thesis offers a rich tapestry of creative exploration, challenges and refinement to support artists, researchers, and heritage institutions in building engaging and meaningful immersive audio experiences, which provide value to both visitors and the site alike.

Date of Award	Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton
Supervisor	Marcus Winter (Supervisor), Frauke Behrendt (Supervisor), Maria Papadomanolaki (Supervisor) & Paul Sermon (Supervisor)