With the cost of electricity going up every day, more and more people are looking for ways to conserve energy. Harnessing power from the sun is an interesting prospect that is already true for many homes and businesses.
Cue the Metaphone – an exquisite concert hall located in France.
In the standard sense, some environments provide refuge and act as transmitters of culture. With the discovery of new technology, buildings nowadays become interactive spaces, able to mold to people’s needs and whims easier than ever before. Playing with the thought of creating a building that doubles as a huge musical instrument, Herault Arnod Architectes of France came up with the Metaphone, which they aspire to be a sight to behold and listened to, courtesy of special acoustic materials that surrounds the building’s structure.
This solar-powered concert hall in France was constructed on the region’s last remaining coal mine. Symbolizing transformation, this unique concert venue allows musicians to make use of the building’s special structure as an acoustic amplifier perfect for a playing orchestra.
The interesting thing about the building is that it is integrated with instrumental elements that can produce sound, using a panel led cladding of varied acoustical values that often vibrates, hauling frequencies that may be controlled from a central cabin. In essence, the artists could literally ‘play with’ the building as some sort of an “urban musical instrument,” yet is also built to be acoustically discreet.
Its modular design seats 500 to 1000 individuals. Built with the basics of sound manufacturing (mechanical or electroacoustical), the structure is built with moving bowls attached to plates to produce loudspeaker membranes. These programs have been manufactured and tested by making a version of this musical façade, consisting of 2 modules quantifying 1.2m, 50 percent fitted with an acoustic device then partner with vibrating plates.
The project extends above and beyond mere refuge – it presents an innovative approach to architecture and music.