Right now we’re working on a test circuit for 8 speakers. Once it works I will upload it here, hopefully with proper documentation.

In cooperation with professor Robin Minard and Andre Bartetzki of the Franz Liszt conservatory, 8 students of the Bauhaus University were asked to do a sound installation in the stairwell of the former federal bank building in berlin. The installation was part of the audio art festival “Inventionen”. The idea of a giant marble run manifested in the early stage of the developement and was then carried out.

Main part of the concept was the connection between the several parts of the exhibition in the different floors of the building and the disconnection of the active visitor and the listener. Visitors could pick up a marble from a copper cattle at the ground floor end of the stairway. These could be inserted into the copper tubes at the upper end of the stairs on the second floor. Position and noise of the marble inside the tubes created the sound that moved up the stairs via 12 independent speakers.

My main contribution to the project was the design and construction of the marble run. Neither the absolute length nor the amount and position of the sensors used was clear when the construction was designed. Thus I emphasized on modularity and visual integration into the the architecture.

More information on “Rumor” and some audio samples can be found on Andre Bartetzkis homepage.