Listening Ears

I was asked to design some artworks for Swansea Point - the last section of a Sculpture Trail that runs adjacent to the sea, about five miles from The Mumbles to Swansea Docks, adjoining a new housing development. At the site chosen for the artworks the trail runs behind some sand dunes making the sea views intermittent, so they were designed to enable people to experience the sea without having to actually see it, through reflected sound. The two 8 m high acoustic reflectors, face out to sea, sited approximately 200 m apart. The passer by hears naturally amplified sea sounds at certain points along the promenade where the sea is not visible. Based on First World War aircraft early warning technology, acoustic reflectors are a simple way of amplifying sound and are very accurately constructed to focus sounds from far away, to a single point.
 
Built from Slate and Stainless Steel, these pieces tie in visually with the award winning National Waterfront Museum nearby. The acoustic focal point is marked on the floor of mini jetties that extend into the sand dunes and from which the sea, just glimpsed, can be clearly heard. 
​Materials                    Stainless Steel, Slate, Lights
Size                              8m x 3m x 0.5m 
Date                            2008
Site                              Swansea Point Swansea Wales UK
Consultants                 Price & Meyers Structural Engineers.
            Dr. Nicholas Pillans, Professor of Acoustics, Greenwich University.
Commissioned By       Persimmon Homes, Swansea Council