Image credits: Alissa + Nienke

Surface of Sound:
Creating a Multisensory Meeting Space

While much of my work at EDGE Technologies focused on portfolio strategy, research and workplace design, every now and then an opportunity arose to work at a much more intimate scale.

For the EDGE Grand Central project in Berlin, I invited the design studio Alissa + Nienke,  to create a multisensory installation for one of the meeting spaces. Having collaborated with them on an earlier project, I knew their work had a rare ability to translate scientific ideas into stunning, tangible experiences.

Material - Mirabilia Wallcovering + sensing platform. Image Credits: A + N

My role was to bridge the worlds of design, research and the project team. Together we developed a brief that explored how art could engage more than just our sense of sight. The resulting installation invited people to touch, listen, observe and experience the space through multiple senses, creating a quieter and more reflective atmosphere within a commercial office environment, named Surface of Sound. 

In their own words: 

"Surface of Sound is a bespoke, interactive installation for the meeting room of Edge Berlin. Every panel has a different 3D surface design and invites you to interact. When you come very close or gently touch it, various sounds and scents are revealed, depending on where you touch the panel. Together, you 'play' the installation like an instrument. Effect:  activates and triggers senses, enables within Edge GC to really get out of their workload, refresh, and enter a meeting fully open-minded." 

 Image Credits: A + N

Although relatively small in scale compared to the projects I was working on on a day to day bases during my time at Edge, , the project embodied something I continue to believe in today: wellbeing isn’t only created through technology or architecture. Art, materials and sensory experiences all influence how we perceive a space and how we feel within it.

The installation remains part of the building today, quietly enriching the everyday experience of the people who use the space.

Furhter reading on: www.a-plus-n.com/exclusives-surfaceofsound-edge