plastique fantastique + marco barotti transform color into soundwaves
photo © plastique fantastique

 

 

 

imagine if you could hear the colors you perceive. you would be able to translate the green leaves of your garden, the black tar of your road, or the warm wood of your table into something audible. you wouldn’t just be able to see the vibrance of their physical representations, but another bodily sense would be engaged, enhancing your overall awareness of your surroundings. ‘sound of light’ is the site specific project of marco barotti and plastique fantastique for a former music pavilion at urban lights ruhr 2014 in germany that provides this effect.

 


video courtesy of plastique fantastique

 

 

 

the concept appears as a synesthetic sculpture which interprets and dynamically transforms sunlight into audio frequencies. a high-quality digital camera mounted on the top of the structure films the sky and divides it into six parts – RGB and CMY. the six corresponding columns of the pneumatic building – which stand for the primary (red, green, and blue) and secondary (cyan, magenta, yellow) color models – are designed to receive different oscillations and convert them from visible to audible sensory inputs. a series of woofers is fixed directly on the bottom of each suspended inflatable, converting the whole architecture into a giant vibrating loudspeaker.

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
oculi in the roof shine light onto the interior
photo © plastique fantastique

 

 

 

 

‘sound of light is a composition of hue, saturation, and light. by mixing sound and architecture, the audience experience a unique oneiric reality through the superimposition of colors, shapes, sounds and vibrations. visitors can also discover their own concert by changing their point of view – an individual spectrum.’ – plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
looking through the entryway
photo © plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
the transparency of the pieces provides different visual effects
photo © plastique fantastique 

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
each column has its own frequency and identity
photo © plastique fantastique 

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
from RGB to CMY
photo © plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
woofers are attached to each of the inflatables
photo © plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
exterior at night
photo © plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
exterior view
photo © plastique fantastique

marco barotti plastique fantastique sound of light urban lights ruhr 2014 germany
color diagram in plan and section

 

 

project info:

 

team: marco canevacci, marco barotti, mirjam dorsch, àlvaro gómez-sellés, stephanie grönnert, hugo luque, michel morin, simone serlenga, gabriel spera, yena young
special thanks: katja aßmann
photography: marco canevacci, simone serlenga
videography: camilla mantovani

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.