The Son-O-House , by NOX architects (Lars Spuybroek) and media artist Edwin van der Heide, is an interactive sounding architecture located at Ekkersrijt, Son, Holland.

This permanent installation creates an interaction between the sound, the architecture and the visitors. The sensors embedded in the building detect the presence, activity and the approximate location of the visitors. This information is analyzed and quantified, then used to control the nature of the sound and therefore challenges the visitors to re-interpret their relationship with the environment.

The sound environment of the Son-O-House is in continuous evolution.

For the opening of the building (in May 2004) the sound environment didn’t contain any prepared sounds. The system is generating its own sounds in real-time, with sound fields transforming depending on the activity of the visitors. The results are stored in a growing data base. Previously generated sounds can be re-used in the future in new combinations.

Image from Jarra.
See also Edwin van der Heide’sSpatial Sounds installation.