Architectural Lighting and Sound Installation at the Milan Design Week offers a New Vision of Nature

The Italian architect Raffaella Laezza presents at this year”s Milan Design week an architectural installation with innovative lighting and sound design named “In Absentia_Bio Parco Sonoro_Piazza Castello Milano”. The project is part of the “White in the City” event and will be shown at the Salotto delle Divinità of Palazzo Cusani, Brera, from 4th to 9th April. International engineering, planning and consulting company Arup created the sound solution for this installation.

The contemporary vision of science enables a new perception of nature. It allows the creation of new geometries inspired by vegetal growth that can be transferred into architecture and design. Raffaella Laezza”s architectural installation consists of a white cube with 4,50m x 4,50m x 4,50m that represents the sacred dimension in nature. Wooden rods known as verticals of light enlighten the space and reliefs on the walls representing verticals of sound turn it into a natural audio environment.

The verticals of light create 121 different gradations of white light, which – when projected on the ancient vault – reinforce the impression of the location”s verticality. The variety of white lights represents the diversity of nature.

In the white cube is a constant faint sound, the so-called white noise, produced by the verticals of sound. This sound is modulated by the presence and movement of the people in the room who interact with the space and, in doing so, reproduce orchestra sections of a classical Italian music composition. The acoustic concept represents the inevitable interdependency of animated nature. It was created by Arup”s German and Dutch acoustic teams. The sound system was provided by Revolution Acoustics.

“The installation “In Absentia_Bio Parco Sonora_Piazza Castello Milano” is a further development of a recent competition entry for the renovation of Piazza Castello Milano. Due to its close and at the same time abstract relation to nature, it is a perfect addition to the “White in the City” event at this year”s Milan Design Week.”
– Raffaella Laezza, architect

“The architectural installation represents a geometric code for nature. It was a challenging experience to develop a sound concept that reflects the geometry of the movement of the vegetal growth process.”
– Francesca Coppa, senior sound engineer, Arup Berlin