Manifesto for an Architecture of Atmospheres, 2020.
As you enter the space the room reverberates with an acoustic that does not match the site: it sounds like somewhere else. The role of collective political voice to the built environment. The recorded voices heard on the earphones speak a sequence of phrases. Children and adult voices combine in a call and response.
Concrete is no more concrete than air
We must no longer make distinctions between indoor and outdoor atmospheres
Our atmospheres and our architectures are an ecological whole
We must build an atmospheric architecture
We must build an architecture out of atmosphere
Our atmosphere is our breath
Our breath underpins our voice
Our voice underpins our manifesto for an architecture of atmospheres
Air is no less concrete than concrete
Made in collaboration with Pedro Novo
'The audio piece for headphones (it should be heard over headphones for full effect) consists of individual and group recordings of the Manifesto for an Architecture of Atmospheres. These recordings are sequentially positioned at different locations in a virtual space, which was computationally modelled as the Vienna Musikverein concert hall. This is auditory virtual reality: to evoke in the listener an auditory space that is independent of the space where the listener is actually located.
This contrasts with the active reverberation system that was installed in one of the gallery's rooms where spontaneous noises made by the visitors, such as noise from steps or voices, are electronically processed and returned to the room (through loudspeakers) in real time such as to give the impression that the room has been enlarged. This is augmented reality: to evoke in the listener an enhanced or transformed version of the acoustics of the room where the listener is actually located.
The continuum from real reality, to augmented reality to virtual reality encompasses a wide range of possibilities to create aural atmospheres.'
- Pedro Novo