Hidden Sounds of Architecture

Contact microphones and electromagnetic microphones allow us to tap in to a world of sonics that are normally hidden from our human hearing. The exploration of these sounds has been fascinating and exciting for me - the potential to discover something new and unheard, a secret sound dimension full of new possibilities, gives me great pleasure and the opportunity to listen to the world from a different perspective.

Photo by Jim Stephenson

“What those contact mics are so good at is picking up much lower frequencies that we don’t hear generally. At London Bridge there were two particular sounds that I was drawn to. One of them is the handrails of the escalator. It was just completely unexpected. You have a vague idea of what something’s going to sound like, but when I connected the contact mics to the left and the right handrails, which was a challenge in itself because you have to stick them to the surface and the escalators are moving so you have limited time, it sounded like a UFO. It’s just this weird sort of sound. Those are the moments that I love about working with those sort of non-traditional microphones.”

In 2019 I travelled around the UK with film maker Jim Stephenson, making films about each of the Stirling Architecture Prize nominees. You can see those films, which focus on the architectural process, here. During that project I had the opportunity to use contact and electromagnetic microphones to capture the sounds from two of the nominated buildings, The Macallan Distillery designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and London Bridge Station designed by Grimshaw, and together with Jim, create these new films which focus on the sounds I discovered.

I also chatted with Jim about the recordings and process, the text of which you can find on his blog.

I have also put together a download album featuring the two soundtracks plus additional recordings from both locations. Find it here.

Headphones recommended to hear the full frequency range of the recordings.

“The production of whisky is industrial, all those sounds that were coming from distillery – it felt like the machine was alive, it felt like it was belching out these sounds. When you listen closely there’s a rhythm to it, and there’s different textures, and these noises start to come alive and have a sort of distinct character all to themselves”

Macallan Distillery - Riba Stirling Architecture Prize

The fourth of Jim Stephenson’s Architects’ Journal/Riba Stirling Prize nominee films looks at the Macallan Distillery in Scotland, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Nestled in the hills near the River Spey, the Macallan Distillery looks a bit like a Bond villain’s lair. On the outside the shape of the undulating 100m long roof resembles the rolling hilly landscape that surrounds the structure. On the inside, high tech industrial equipment, lit dramatically, produces premium whisky, with one bottle in particular costing over £500,000.

Tuning in to the production process using contact microphones, I uncovered a hidden world of sound. The hiss and pressure of the stills and pipes, deep industrial drones and wind ‘playing’ the structure itself.

Photograph by Jim Stephenson

Of all the Stirling Prize nominees, this was the richest for the senses. The contrast of the internal industrial sounds and the external natural sounds, the strong, sometimes overpowering smell of whisky, and inside the production area, the stifling heat, made for a challenging, but ultimately rewarding recording and filming environment.

There will be an alternate version to showcase the hidden sounds picked up by contact microphones coming soon.

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The Riba Stirling Architecture Prize winner is announced on the 8th of October. Find out more here.

London Bridge Station - Riba Stirling Architecture Prize

The third of Jim Stephenson’s Architects’ Journal/Riba Stirling Prize nominee films looks at London Bridge Station, designed by Grimshaw Architects.

As well as the recognisable sounds of a busy station in a major city, I was able to record the hidden sounds using contact microphones to pick up the deep rumble of the escalator mechanics and the other worldly friction of the escalator handrails, and electromagnetic microphones to uncover the wealth of electronic waves pulsing through the station. These sounds don’t make it in to the main film (apart from the escalator rumble), but an alternative version with these as the focus, is planned.

Photograph by Jim Stephenson

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The Riba Stirling Architecture Prize winner is announced on the 8th of October. Find out more here.

Shenzhen Electronics Markets

The electronics markets in Shenzhen are famous. It's easy to assume they are full of fake iPhones and other brands, but there is much more to Shenzhen than that. Shenzhen is the place to go if you are designing new technology, because you can get prototypes built in a fraction of the time it takes anywhere else. You can also buy pretty much any electronic component you can think of. 

I spent two hours exploring 7 floors of electronics, using my LOM Elektrosluch electromagnetic microphone to record the hidden sounds that the circuits, LEDs, components and gadgets emit. The LEDs in particular were a rich vein of sounds; the colours, patterns and movements creating a beautiful minimal techno album 12 hours a day, hidden from human ears. Recordings coming soon.