yuri suzuki's interactive acoustic pavilion at saint etienne biennale

yuri suzuki’s interactive acoustic pavilion at saint etienne biennale
images courtesy of yuri suzuki

yuri suzuki’s saint etienne biennale 2015 pavilion, named ‘experience beauty through sound’, is an auditory horn installation that enables visitors to explore the relationship between space, shape and sound. the exhibition questions why people often associate beauty with only visual aspects, even though music plays an important part in our perception of this. it builds upon the links between shapes and sounds in architecture, first analyzed by iannis xenakis, and the resulting ‘philips’ pavilion, created in 1958 with le corbusier, for the brussels world exhibition.

visitors forming their own structures

fittingly, the acoustic pavilion sits inside le corbusier’s saint-pierre church in firminy, france, where it allows visitors to create their own listening devices. the network of ABS pipes provides the opportunity to make long, short, straight or angular structures, and for people to explore how sounds evolve through different forms.

people can hear sounds through the conical caps

the network of ABS pipes show how sound changes through different forms

yuri suzuki’s pavilion is on display in le corbusier’s church

it explores the relationship between space, shape and sound

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