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Call of Nature: Waterfront Step Organ in Croatia Turn Waves into Tunes

20 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

oceanfront wave organ

This 230-foot-long musical instrument contains 35 organ pipes and is powered by the Adriatic Sea, producing sounds for visitors that seem eerily composed rather than random.

Whistle holes cut into the stone steps are ‘powered’ by air pushed in by waves of water, creating chords that are strikingly harmonious in nature. The sounds are constantly shifting, but you can listen to a clip above (a .wav file of the waves, if you will).

seafront playable instrument music

The Sea Organ, or the Morske Orgulje, is part of plan to revive Zadar, a city over 3,000 years old that was nearly obliterated in the Second World War. Architect Nikola Baši? wanted to give the place something with character, differentiated from the stark and boring concrete buildings that were created during initial years of rebuilding.

sea organ white steps

The design was inspired by the Hydraulis, an ancient Greek instrument that used water to push air through tuned pipes, but also borrows from the Wave Organ in San Francisco, a likewise seaside device amplifying the sounds of the Pacific Ocean. (images by linssimato, Lisa and J We).

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Posted in Creativity

Sea Organ: Concrete Jetty Makes Music with Crashing Waves

21 Nov

[ By Steph in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

sea organ 1

The ocean already makes music of its own, but in one Croatian town, its natural sounds are enhanced with the help of an interactive jetty-turned-instrument called ‘Sea Organ.’ Created by architect Nikola Basic in collaboration with engineers, craftspeople and a musical professor who tuned all of the pipes, the 230-foot installation on the coast of Zadar emits a constantly-changing concert of harmonic sounds with the flow of wind and water.

sea organ 3

A system of polyethylene tubes and a resonating cavity are disguised beneath a set of marble steps leading straight into the Adriatic Sea. The channels connect to 35 organ pipes, and each set of steps containing five pipes is tuned to a different musical chord. As waves and the wind push air into the pipes, they create a haunting chorus of sound. The rougher the sea, the louder and faster the music.

sea organ 4

sea organ 2

The Zadar-Morske Orgulje, as it’s known locally, is also topped with an interactive display of LED lights that seem timed to show the movement of the water under the marble. This 22-meter-diameter, disc-shaped solar-powered installation called ‘Sun Salutation,’ also created by Basic, only serves to make the music of the sea even more magical.

Images via Flickr Creative Commons: linssimato, J We, Suzanne Hamilton, EyeofJ