Arts Thread

SilenceTop is an interactive microarchitecture reinterpreted from the traditional Korean low-table called ‘Soban’. The project creates a new form of engagement around the subject of silence in both social to non-social setting, altering the meaning of being alone and the awkward pauses occurring in the middle of the social interaction. Silence is a language of love or the quietude permeating the ambiance. SilenceTop highlights the non-linguistic cues for interaction and reframes the landscape of domestic spaces. Silence does not exist in a distinctive form. It gets recognized when the apparent social activities and sound fade out. The silence reading varies from person to person based on their cultural background and the circumstance they are situated in. It can be regarded as a sign of respect to one while bringing uncomfortable and anxious emotions to the others. Microarchitecture is an emerging transdisciplinary practice that blends the two related fields of furniture and architecture. Furni- ture, by definition, is a moveable partition or object suited for living, such as chairs and tables. As much as furniture concerns human conditions and the spaces it is situated in, so is architectural design. SilenceTop has four modes. Social mode is active when two or more people sit around the object. When silence persists for a certain amount of time in social mode, it intervenes by plucking the kalimba consisting of low-pitch semitone tines. Depending on the people, the tones may be appealing or annoying, but the only way to stop listening to the semitones is to open a conversation again. The aggressiveness and speed of the semitones plucked are increased with each repetition of social silence occurring in one sitting. Lone mode is active when a single person is in the vicinity, or nobody is in the same space. SilenceTop regards silence as a need to last and appreciate. In lone silence mode, SilenceTop generates mists that permeate the room over time, creating an atmospheric and relaxed ambiance. The dampness on the surface acts as a time indicator of how long the silence has lasted. The IR and analog sound sensors are calibrated to recognize the conversation at 75-78dB, the level of sound detected- ed when a person is soft speaking 35-40 cm away from the object. The IR sensors are adjusted such that the presence is sensed at a distance of 35cm away from the object in all three sides of SilenceTop. SilenceTop is designed to be easily assemble and access in the domestic environment as well as to perform different functions spatially. All seating sides are 75cm apart from each other, providing a not-too-close for a less developed relationship and a not-too-far for an intimate one. The materials provide a semi-exposed aesthetic to the overall object, revealing the mechanical details of the kalimba as well as the internal structure. The colour choices and the brutalistic styles aim contrasting from the conventional design carries out the playful qualities.