Lo Rez/Hi Fi, 2007

Audio; Stainless Steel Poles; LED lighting
14'H x 20'W x 30'D
1110 Vermont Ave. Washington DC

Lo Rez/Hi Fi s a permanent public art project that activates the sidewalk and engages the public by transforming light and sound into interactive mediums. Conceived in collaboration between Abbott Stillman, architect Meejin Yoon, and Erik Carlson (Area C Projects), who was the composer / sound designer for the project. Composed with a palette of over 80 unique sounds for what was conceived as a "soundgrove," an intimate public space which, through the medium of sound, invites the public into an organic interaction.

They developed the operation and functionality of the interactive soundgrove poles as instruments activated by touch. The result is a grove of LEDs that create a 3-dimensional space on the sidewalk. When activated by passersby, the poles emit musical tones that intermix with the sonic palette of the surrounding street ambiance. As more people occupy the grove, an unpredictable, ever-shifting choreography of tones creates a open, public composition.

It was selected by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum as one of the finest designs of any kind in the U.S. and displayed at their 2007 Triennial. It was later displayed at both the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston winning the Boston Society of Architects AIA award, 2007 and the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston. It also received honorable mention in the 2009 IMEB Bourges.