Ecological Samsara
Soundscape Transformation of Parkwood Springs
Perspective, path of Awareness
A pilgrimage through sound and landscape regeneration.
Site Analysis
Location and Characters
Parkwood Springs is a 1.5 mile long urban natural space close to Sheffield city center with strong ecological resilience. It has survived bushfires, supported rich biodiversity and ecosystems, and become a place of spiritual and cultural significance to the community
Recording the Site
The site is analyzed through novel methods, experiential observation, sound mapping and hand-drawn sketches to capture its ecological, spatial and cultural character.
Forest Fire
Species Diversity
Sheffield, UK
Parkwood Springs, Sheffield
Concept
The four stages of ecology recycle
At Parkwood Springs, each landscape space is undergoing multiple ecological stages as human intervention fades and vegetation gradually returns. This dynamic process constantly cycles through destruction, transition, and renewal.
Why is Walking?
The design transforms the ecological cycle into a pilgrimage path, guiding visitors through different stages of landscape transformation.As people move through areas of decay, transition, and regeneration, they symbolically experience a journey similar to the cycle of
Why is Soundscape?
In contemporary society, people often seek comfort in digital soundscapes such as ASMR rather than engaging with the real sounds of nature. This project reintroduces natural soundscapes as a sensory guide, encouraging visitors to slow down, listen, and reconnect with the living landscape.
Walking becomes a pilgrimage, and listening becomes a way of reconnecting with nature.
Samsara.
This dynamic transformation echoes the Buddhist concept of Samsara, where the six realms symbolize an endless cycle of destruction, transition, and rebirth.
The Buddhist Six Realms of Desire and Samsara Ecological Scars
Healing
Ecological Restoration
Pilgrimage
Visitors are not only observers, but participants and co-composers of the evolving soundscape.
Gravel Stone
Stream
Raindrop
Meadow
Trunk
Stepping on different materials generates distinct sounds, allowing footsteps to become part of the landscape’s soundscape.
Masterplan Sounds Mapping
Two routes guide visitors through the landscape pilgrimage. One begins at the spiritual sculpture, showcasing ecological change and diverse microclimates, while the other traces the abandoned ski village to the city skyline, revealing nature’s rapid recovery.
As pilgrims move through the landscape at different times, the soundscape transforms into a living ecological composition.
Eight natural and human sounds weave through both routes, forming a rich and dynamic soundscape.
Route I
Route I stretches 300 m from the spiritual sculpture, traversing four materials, diverse spaces, and changing microclimates.
Bark Paving and Chains Boardwalks and Platforms
Mossy Sculpture
Iron Artwork
Route II
Route II stretches 500 m from the abandoned ski slope’s gravel area, traversing three key nodes that reveal the site’s ecological recovery, before emerging from the forest to the Sheffield city skyline.
Spatial and sounds
Sound flows through the landscape, shaped by the interplay of space and materials.
with the sound of
Route I
Ecological processes
Route II
Sounds of Pilgrimage Experience
Timbre
Tempo of Walking Tempo of Nature Footstep
Bright Bassy
Vibrant and Bouncing
Numb and Rigid Warm Regular and Peaceful Dark
Ruderal
Ruderal to Wildness
Wildness
Wildness
Pilgrim’s Marker
path of Awareness path of Awakening
Through walking and listening to the evolving soundscape, visitors undergo a journey of spiritual awakening and complete the pilgrimage.
Perspective, Encountering the Scar
Journey Through Time
1 Year
At this moment, people on the landscape route experience different ecosystem sounds under different conditions of temperature, humidity and frequency.
This has triggered people's deeper concern and respect for nature, and triggered a profound reflection on environmental protection. It is also a unique sensory journey that allows people to reconnect and resonate with nature.
10 Years
In 10 years, plants will continue to spread and grow, gradually covering the paved roads. Parkwood Springs will return to the embrace of nature, and the artificial traces will be diluted by time, leaving a natural ecological resort.
However, people who travel through this landscape route can still hear traces of human intervention in nature, as well as the sound of ecological flourishing.
50 Years
Fifty years later, humankind's excessive intervention in nature has been completely overtaken by natural forces.
The entire site becomes an ecosystem paradise, filled with diverse sounds and sights, including birdsong, the buzz of insects, the rustle of plants, and lush trees and wildlife. A natural symphony is created here, a reminder of the beauty of ecosystems.
Routes
Tempo & Timbre