
Tower is an interactive sound art installation, exhibited at the Volunteer Park Water Tower in Seattle, WA on September 15th, 2024. The water tower contains a spectacular double-helix steel staircase that naturally amplifies footsteps throughout the building. Typically, modern staircases are made with concrete pans, which have a sound dampening effect. By contrast, steel has the ability to transmit and resonate sounds. This acoustic phenomenon became the starting point for a musical intervention. Live digital audio processing of five microphone inputs produces song-like murmurs, obscuring footsteps, birdsong, and human voices. The site-specific and situational performance responds to the actions of observers and provides a new way of listening to architectural space. By exploring the intersections between sound, architecture, and music, Tower suggests how spatial applications of sound can provide enriching soundscapes for our lives.

