Organ Beast

M Arch Semester Studio Project
University of Pennsylvania

Tags: User Experience Design, Digital Fabrication, Physical Fabricatin, Shape-Changing Interface

The study of organ initiates the design project of the semester. The project is about a musical installation in Pennsylvania 30th Station. The concept of the project is making an urban instrument to enhance people’s experience in the train station and get the visitors interacting with the architecture by circulation and building transformation. Waiting room acts as not only a common area for transition, but also a cultural celebration space for people to experience the urban life. How to enhance the traveler’s life by transforming the waiting room into a performing art center is the thesis of the project.

A 1:2 physical model is made to test the feasibility of the proposal. The actual model is a partial model of the bench.  There is an air generator inside the model which makes the model actually capable of making sounds with different notes. The success of the model ensures the constructability of the organ pavilion.

The Organ Beast Installaion is located at the entrance of the train station, above three individual platform entrance, spanning across the interior space of the waiting lobby.
The pavilion is designed for no more than five people inside it at the same time. And the piping system, which is the main structural system of the pavilion, is designed with different widths in order to be capable of making different sounds. The pipes which compose the main space of the pavilion are woven with keyboards.

The pipes that are connected to the ventilation system at the entrance of the platforms are specifically studied regarding to their widths and lengths. So each pipe is responsible for a specific note within this musical instrument.