Submitted by M.L. R. Grove on Wed, 25/03/2026 - 14:51
The ASA selection committee praised the work for its ‘vivid storytelling and meticulous research,’ noting that it ‘reveals how bold experiments and interdisciplinary collaboration transformed buildings into instruments and defined modern concert hall design.’ The award will be formally presented at the upcoming ASA Meeting in Philadelphia, where Dr Smyth will also participate in a featured panel on ‘Sound Communication,’ exploring how complex acoustic research can be effectively shared across disciplines.
In addition to the ASA award, the book has achieved significant multidisciplinary recognition, earning shortlists or longlists from seven international professional bodies across the fields of history, architecture, art history, and the history of science. These include the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion), the Architectural Book Awards, the British Society for the History of Science (Pickstone and Hughes prizes), as well as the Walpole Society (Berger Prize for British Art History).
Further demonstrating its success in science communication, the work has seen significant public engagement, achieving number one and top 25 rankings on Amazon in the 'Stereo and Audio' and 'History of Science' categories respectively.
Dr Smyth has also discussed her research on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week and on Australia’s ABC The Music Show in a feature on ‘Anarchy and Acoustics’. The project has been featured on prominent architecture, music, and history platforms, including The Rest is Just Noise, Monocle on Design, The New Books Network, and A is for Architecture.