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Suspended Sound, Stair - a Kickstarter project

 

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The goal of Suspended Sound, Stair is to challenge peoples’ perception of a particularly reverberant stairwell by creating a gradient of sound absorption and visual opacity.  The top floor will be acoustically insulated relative to the first floor of the stairwell, which will remain acoustically reflective.  This will be achieved by suspending multiple layers of semi-transparent fabric from a metal structure which will be mounted at the top of the void in the stairwell.  As one climbs up the staircase, the accumulated layers of fabric grow increasingly opaque.  During the day, light will stream into the space from the skylight at the top of the stairwell enabling the fabric to act as a filter.

Precedents: Bernhard Leitner

More on Bernhard Leitner to come, but for now I just wanted to post these images which I find fascinating.  These investigatory sketches exemplify the rigorous method through which Leitner first studies and then proposes manipulations of sound and its movement through three dimensional space.  Of course these are only the visual elements of a thought process that involves extensive spatio-temporal-sonic testing and exploration.

Source: Bernhard Leitner. Vol. no. 122. Berlin :Köln: SMB Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berln ;DuMont, 2008

Source: Bernhard Leitner. Vol. no. 122. Berlin :Köln: SMB Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berln ;DuMont, 2008

Source: Bernhard Leitner. Vol. no. 122. Berlin :Köln: SMB Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berln ;DuMont, 2008

Source: Bernhard Leitner. Vol. no. 122. Berlin :Köln: SMB Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berln ;DuMont, 2008

Source: Bernhard Leitner. Vol. no. 122. Berlin :Köln: SMB Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berln ;DuMont, 2008

"Hear There" (v.2) @ DWELL

 DWELL at Contemporary Artists Center, October 2011 - October 2012

 "Hear,There, is an installation of conical listening devices projecting aggressively out of the Woodside church doorways. Made to engage both the eye and ear, this acoustical intervention creates space for concentrated listening, broadcasting messages, discrete eavesdropping or speaking confessions and other interactions. Hear,There also directs the listener’s attention to the sounds inherent in the 150-year-old Woodside building and asks the question: what kind of information is ignored or overlooked because we so often take senses other than sight for granted?"

 

exhibition website: http://www.cactroy.org/dwell/

more photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bvcphoto/6230526265/in/photostream/ 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/altuwa/6229038010/  

"Hear There" @ CAC Woodside

Hear There - 2011

This installation is an exploration of spatial and aural experience through the manipulation of a vertical surface.  The insertion of a wall of cones filters existing soundscapes and invites alternative modes of activation.  The construct creates space for concentrated listening, broadcasting messages, discrete eavesdropping or speaking confessions and other interaction.  Cones are employed because of their dual ability to focus and project sound.  Additionally, their geometry results in contrasting spatial effects.

interior

projected light on adjacent building

sound recordings coming soon...

Fan Music 02 - Vestibule @ CAC Woodside

A fan positioned on the floor above the vestibule at Woodside Chapel activates the space below.  This recording is taken entering the vestibule and recording along the perimeter of the 8' x 8' x 12' space.

I was immediately struck by the distinct fluctuations of the sound while recording along the wall.  A spectrogram reveals that 120 Hz is the most reinforced frequency within the space.   

Cone Wall: Full Scale Mock-up

process

exterior

interior