Switched On

How might we hear with our eyes? How might we see with our ears? 

Our submission for the 2019 Oslo Architecture Triennale takes up the Triennale’s subtheme “Lose Yourself” by decoupling sight from sound in order to stage an intimate encounter between strangers in a gesture of shared spatial awareness.

The project collapses 5 activities of daily life into one space. The 5 activities are programmed to take place in 5 enclosed interior spaces within the National Museum - Architecture. We call these spaces Stations. Each Station features furniture and other accommodations to facilitate and encourage the specified activity: i) working; ii) resting; iii) playing; iv) eating; v) undefined. The 5 audio/video feeds recorded at each Station are broadcast live inside a one-person Chamber.

Each Station is equipped with cameras, binaural microphones, and wifi, which enable the recording and transmission of the happenings taking place within each Station throughout the day.

The Chamber is equipped with 5 projector screens, one for each surface of the chamber. Each screen displays the live audio and video feed from one of the 5 Stations. Within the Chamber users are able to interface with a controller that enables them to independently mix the audio and video feeds from each Station, thereby decoupling site from sound and encouraging visitors to lose themselves in a shared sensorial landscape.