Diary

Projects

Information

Diary

Projects

Information

P—007—TOS

Tower of Silence

Cover image

Reference

P—007—TOS

Project

Performing Arts Installation

Location

Confidential

Client

Universal Music Group

Status

On Hold

Introduction

We were approached by Universal Music Group to collaborate with one of their musicians on an experimental aural-spatial installation. The installation is to exist semi permanently within a gallery and will provide a radical spatial performance experience for a site specific composition. There is an obvious interconnectedness between Architecture, the body and sound. They are all also subject to rhythms and cycles - melody & noise, day & night, life & death. Discussing these themes we were drawn to Towers of Silence. Towers of Silence house the Zoroastrian burial process. The dead are laid out within the circular tower, where the flesh is consumed by vultures. The organic body is recycled back into nature, the soul having departed. The experience centres on the creation of an infinite piece of music in an infinite piece of Architecture. It is a fascinating and extreme precedent of the relationship between Architecture, body and sound. It can be seen as a morbid symbol of loss and the grotesque. However equally symbolises rebirth, reuse and euphoria.

The design is based upon prefabricated concrete sections that we have repurposed to form an acoustic wall, performance space and intimate listening chambers. The intention of this material choice is to create a ubiquitous design that could be easily implemented anywhere.