When sound gives an identity to places

The Aurea project, by Team, tries to tackle the lack of attachment that residents may feel towards certain estates in West Camberwell (London), not by adding visual caracteristics (logos, public art, street furniture, etc), but by introducing a new layer to the background sound of the area on sunny days. The sound would gradually become synonymous to the good feeling induced by sunny days at the place.

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Whenever it is sunny, a mechanical music box would play a carefully designed melody. The infrequent, random timing and source of the tune means it seamlessly blends into the background sound of the area. It is even likely to go unnoticed, while still having the effect of developing a healthier relationship between the people and the place.

Over time the sound will become synonymous to the pleasant feeling that sunny days give you, sparking memories and images of being in the area on sunny days, thus triggering a sense of familiarity and homeliness.

The music boxes consist of a timing circuit powered by solar cells, which switches on every 45 to 60 minutes when in the sun.

The devices could be either invisible -hidden inside street lamps and sign posts-, or small and unnoticable but decorative and indicative of their function.