Revealing Reflecting

Covered by the concrete canopy of the Gardiner Expressway and being beside Fort York Boulevard, the soundscape of The Bentway is dominated by the din of cars, trucks, and construction. But The Bentway also rings with smaller sounds – chirping birds, playing children, skateboards clacking, water splashing. The urban soundscape is generally structured and controlled though abatement – noise curfews, zoning, etc. But sound is more malleable than we often realize.

The installation, Revealing Reflecting, is an experiment in shaping and reorganizing sound. We are attempting to develop new ways of intervening in urban spaces, beginning with acoustics instead of treating sound as an inconvenient afterthought. Robotically milled structure makes use of the reflective properties of the parabolic dish, a curved form that collects sound waves and reflects them towards a single focal point. The walls of the dish mask the noise of the surrounding area. It sits at a slight tilt, aimed at the area above The Bentway’s splash pad. Revealing Reflecting is an exercise in rearranging the urban soundscape and prompts visitors to consider how form and design can transform the built environment into a space of play and surprise.

Architect: Dr. Brady Peters (Brady Peters Research Team)

Client: The Bentway

Year: 2019 - Unbuilt

Location: Toronto, ON

Design Team: Kiefer Savage, Krystal Kramer, Nicholas Hoban, Newton Xian & Sky Ece Ulusoy