A Wild Thing

Miami, 2017

Audio-augmented home replica

The objects that surround us carry the stories that define us. Belgian designers Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen took this to heart and took part in an experiment commissioned by Airbnb for Design/Miami 2017.

Their entire living room was mocked up on the design fair and featured original artifacts from their home including pieces made by their artist parents or children, furniture they designed, objects brought from their trips, or books that influenced them.

Some of these objects were activated with audio. As visitors came close to one of these, an invisible family member would tell them a story associated with it, using an array of concealed cameras and loudspeakers.

I designed and programmed the camera tracking system, the audio playback engine, and the multichannel loudspeaker system integrated into the set design.

Audio system designer, video tracking system designer, sound designer, creative developer

Hardware: Hyperdirectional loudspeakers, surface audio transducers, cameras, Raspberry Pis, computer

Software: Python, Max/MSP

Photo: Airbnb