Creative chimes instead of a break bell
Art on buildings for the ear is still rare. This makes the initiative by the city of Aarau all the more pleasing. It has opted for a sound installation that transforms the façade and surroundings of a school building into an instrument and a listening system.
A "Glockenspiel" by artist Lorenz Schmid will replace the monotonous break time chime after the renovation of the Pestalozzi school building. The niches in the façade of the side wings of the building, which have been empty since the building was completed, will each be fitted with a bell. Triggered by a programmable circuit, the monotonous melody of the existing break time gong is replaced by a varied chime that mixes with the existing background noise.
The microphones installed in the uppermost niches capture the sound at the point of origin and carry it into the interior of the school building. The sound is distributed throughout the building via the in-house loudspeaker system.
The city council and the commercial school KV Aarau invite all interested parties to the vernissage with aperitif on May 23, 2013 at 11 a.m. in the Pestalozzi school building.
