Brooklyn Research collaborated with Urban Matter in developing an interactive sound and light tree for the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The Sound Tree has nine branches/fins installed that are lined with diffused LED lighting and animated through an color sequence when not activated. Once a user enters the glass brick structure proximity sensors, installed between the branches/fins, detect that a user is present and activates that zone. When a zone is activated the branches/fins change to a solid white color and a sound is triggered. The sounds triggered are based on the oceanic environment located nearby, which is anything from seagulls calling to the ocean waves crashing. As the user walks around the tree other zones are activated and deactivated which gives the appearance of the the tree following the user through the experience.
Brooklyn Research designed, prototyped, and fabricated all hardware and electrical components for the Sound Tree. Brooklyn Research worked with Urban Matter in designing the structure, and managed all the physical fabrication. Installation was done in collaboration with Stella Metals, Urban Matter, and Brooklyn Research.