Acoustic Interiors

The acoustic memory of a building

This has been a project in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. It ran from November 2021 to October 2022.
Together with a group of students, alumni and other people interested, we created sonic portraits of the two buildings between which the Conservatoire transitioned in that period: the old one at Juliana van Stolberglaan 1, a building full of stories, and the brand new Amare, at Spuiplein 150. To make these sonic portraits, we set up binaural recording sessions focusing on selected spaces inside or just outside each building. The sessions took place in december 2021 and january 2022. The final presentation of the project was a double album on Bandcamp, a website and a series of postcards displayed in Amare.

The concept for Acoustic Interiors was developed by New Emergences member Anne Wellmer, who studied Sonology at the KC:

“It was a revelation to be able to make my own work in that ugly building next to the highway. It was also very special how easy it was inside the building to meet new people to make music with. Anyone who – since 1980- has had the opportunity to study or work in this open-minded atmosphere in the building by architect Leon Waterman at Juliana van Stolberglaan, will have fond memories linked to spaces and places in and around the building. Some corners have their own very characteristic sounds: the sliding doors of the main entrance, the hollow slope down on the way to the studios, the intercom where names are being called when study rooms become available, the candy vending machines, or the sound of slamming doors on the corridors along Prinses Beatrixlaan.”

Find more about all phases of the project on the Acoustic Interiors website.

Listen to the double album on our Bandcamp page.


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