Sonic playground: a soundwalk through the Banyan Plaza (2024)
Participative performance & lecture at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts-Weiwuying, Kaohsiung Taiwan.
”Why does singing in the bathroom sound so good, and how does this principle translate into designing an orchestral concert hall? We experience the effects of space and sound every day in the places we inhabit — yet the “invisible” science of acoustics remains largely unknown to most of us.
Albert Yaying Xu, the acoustician behind Wei Wu Ying, dedicated his life to creating the world’s best environment for classical music. But beyond striving for acoustic excellence, he also had a mission: to make the art of acoustics more accessible to the general public and future generations.
The Banyan Plaza presented an acoustic challenge during the project due to its shape and openness. Rather than attempting to suppress echoes and reverberations with different materials, Albert and the team of architects chose to enhance the natural acoustic properties already present, transforming the space into something acoustically rich and free.
After the opening, amateur musicians began to organically discover their favorite spots under the shade of this public space, selecting locations where their instruments sounded the best.
We invite the public to collectively explore what architectural acoustics truly is and experiment with it through play and movement. Under the guidance of artist Maïly Beyrens Xu and accompanying musicians, we will echo the mind of Albert Yaying Xu, who would be honored to see this space used as he intended.
Together, we will navigate the space and explore its unique acoustic qualities.”