Be Open Sound Portal
London Design Festival - Arup - London - 2012
Following the success of Sonic Dreams in Edinburgh, the London Design Festival became interested in the concept of a temporary 3D sound pavillon. The Be Open Sound Portal is the result of a conversation between Ben Evans, the director of the London Design Festival and Andrew Hall, Steven Philips and myself from Arup. The Sound Portal was an experiential pavilion conceived for the 10th anniversary of the London Design Festival and was installed in Trafalgar Square. The initial intent was to build the Sound Portal for the 2011 edition - year i left Arup. The project was handed over to my colleague Ned Crowe who continued its acoustic design in time for the 2012 edition.
The Be Open Sound Portal is a temporary pavillion hosting a 3D sound ambisonic set up using the Arup SoundLab 3D sound technology.
Every day, the BE OPEN Sound Portal hosted one of five leading musicians and sound artists, each of whom was specially commissioned to create a unique soundscape. Visitors experienced a range of vibrant sonic and musical responses, from the sounds of glaciers breaking up to electronically composed music.
Sound and Music commissioned award winning Norwegian artist Jana Winderen, radical music pioneer Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher) and a Russian artist sourced in collaboration with BE OPEN, Ivan Pavlov.
