Sam Auinger is an Austrian-born sonic thinker, composer and sound artist. He co-founded O+A, their work is known for large scale sound installations in public spaces that transform the sounds of the city into harmony in real time. The ‘Blue Moon’ project involved installing three “tuning tubes” in the North Cove Harbor of NYC. These tuning tubes transformed the city noise into more harmonious-sounding chords and melodies. I find this work so interesting because instead of approaching the problem of noise pollution in a city by attemping to block out sound, the project rather tries to help translate these inevitable harsh sounds of the bustling city more pleasing and harmonious.

“Sound travels at 330 m/s at 20°C but travels at different speeds at different temperatures. So you can actually hear temperature.”

Sam Auinger collaborates with city planners and architects, and participates on international conferences on the topic of urban planning, architecture, media, and the senses.