2023

generartor, aluminium, pvc, dc motors, loudspeakers, copper wire, magnets

https://vimeo.com/870417016

' Umwandler' is a site-specific sound installation based on the principle of the copper coil. This concept is extended to the entire water reservoir known as the “Großer Wasserspeicher” in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, a subterranean structure composed of brick vaults arranged in four concentric rings around a central space.

Cables radiate outward from the centre of the reservoir, run through the full extent of the building, and return from the outermost ring back to the centre, where the core of the system is installed.

The 'Umwandler' functions as a generator. Similar to a turbine, it converts mechanical energy from motor-driven magnets and kinetic energy generated by loudspeakers into electrical energy. This energy serves as the primary power source of the installation and is conducted through the cable system across the entire architectural structure.

Due to the total cable length of over one kilometre, the system experiences a continuous voltage drop. As a result, it repeatedly discharges itself, producing electrical impulses that circulate through the rings in constantly shifting patterns. These charging and discharging processes create unstable, dynamically unpredictable conditions.

The resulting soundscape is in continuous flux, shaped by the interaction between the system and the architecture. The long reverberation time of up to 18 seconds does not simply amplify the sound but prolongs and overlays it, causing successive impulses to merge and interfere with one another. This creates a dense, evolving acoustic field that unfolds throughout the entire space.

Großer Wasserspeicher, Berlin (DE), photo credit: Simon Vogel

Großer Wasserspeicher, Berlin (DE), photo credit: Simon Vogel