Max Osswald photographs

Gathered by historian of architecture Sabine von Fischer, this set consists of sound photographs taken by Franz Max Osswald, the founder of the first laboratory for the study applied acoustics at ETH in Zurich, ca. 1930. These photographs, which are now finally archived in ETH’s image library, demonstrate how the non-visual senses claimed a presence in photography’s presumed visual objectivity. They invite us to rethink the ocular hegemony in architectural historiography and show us how we might begin to recuperate that which we cannot see—in this case, what we hear—when discussing architecture. As such, this set offers a great opportunity to engage with emerging conversations on the place of senses and sensory experience in the history of the built environment.

Displaying 1 - 10 of 25
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (09.10.1930AD) 1930. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation Within Convex And Concave (4 Of 4)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (09.10.1930AD) 1930. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation In The Ear Of Dionysius”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (18.10.1930AD) 1930. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation With Explanatory Line Drawings”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (09.10.1930AD) 1930. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation For An Elliptic Space With Coffering (1 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. 1933. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation For Rooms With Wood Coffering (1 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. 1933. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation For Rooms With Wood Coffering (2 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (04.07.1933AD) 1933. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation In Semper´s Stadthaus Winterthur Auditorium (1 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. (04.07.1933AD) 1933. “Photographic Study Of Sound Propagation In Semper´s Stadthaus Winterthur Auditorium (2 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. 1933. “Acoustics Laboratory, E.t.h. Zürich, With Apparatuses (1 Of 2)”.
Image
Osswald, Franz Max. 1933. “Acoustics Laboratory, E.t.h. Zürich, With Apparatuses (2 Of 2)”.