Community Echo is a «Kunst am Bau» project, created for the construction of the Baugewerbliche Berufsschule in Zurich. The work is co-signed by Michal Florence Schorro, Raphael Raccuia, Giona Bierens de Haan and myself.
At the summit of a 27 meter antenna, four microphones capture the city’s soundscape in continuous 360° recording. The audio is replayed twelve hours later, emerging from a sound-equipped drain embedded in the ground at the building’s entrance.
The setup follows a technical logic similar to the devices we equip our buildings with: lightning rods, satellite dishes, antennas, sensors… Its installation raises a number of questions: What sounds do our cities produce? Who has the right to make noise? Who enforces silence? Who tries to be heard? What sounds do we no longer pay any attention to? What do we never hear? Are we being listened to?
The system records and broadcasts sound into public space, in a constant stream, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the equipment is maintained and the school is not bombed, time will allow us to listen to the evolution of Zurich’s sound environment. This piece will give those who choose to listen the chance to become auditory witnesses to the effects of technical, political, climatic, urbanistic, and social changes in the country’s largest city.
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