Sonic Interventions

Exhibition at the CCRD

November 16th, 2007

SONIC INTERVENTIONS: DOWNTOWN LA SHAPED BY SOUND

Architects are demonstrating how sound can be used as a design tool that could change the skyline of our cities.

How can street noise be used to transform buildings is the question designers Herwig Baumgartner and Scott Uriu from B+U asked themselves when creating a very different vision for the development of downtown Los Angeles. The results can be seen in the exhibition Sonic Interventions at the Hollywood Center for Community Research & Design (CCRD), which opens on November 16th 2007 at 7pm and is hosted by the Architecture Department of Woodbury University. According to Jeanine Centuori, Director of the CCRD the show raises an awareness and direct participation in the urban issues, practices and places that define Los Angeles. The exhibit includes sound installations and projections of the different design iterations which were created utilizing computer software especially developed for this project. Asked why the designers used sound for their design process Baumgartner replies “City planning is typically driven by social, economical and political factors but usually ignores the ephemeral quality of a city. We tried to capture some of these qualities and transform them into buildings that imprint the invisible forces of the city”.

B+U, is an Architecture firm headquartered in Los Angeles and was established in 1999 by Herwig Baumgartner and Scott Uriu. Their studio is a place for innovation, challenging the way how design can effect the environment today and is dedicated to pushing boundaries of architecture and urban design.

Hollywood Center for Community Research and Design, 6520 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028. (213) 461-6486. November 16th-30th daily from 4-8pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.