The Sennheiser Soundscape is a design-forward retail landscape in the Oculus at World Trade Center, that aims to formally capture the purity, dynamism, and drama of sound as a hub for premium listening experiences.

In the iconic Oculus atrium, the installation is designed to create a complimentary sculptural landmark that conveys the German brand’s design and engineering-forward emphasis. The architectural landscape is created with over 2000 undulating “sound rods”. Each plexi-glass rod houses a dichroic coated glass insert that filters the natural and artificial light within the Oculus into vibrant color that shifts throughout the day and as one walks around and through the installation.

The concept was sculpted and developed iteratively to express key qualities of sound such as order and chaos, power and intensity, science and rationality, and emotion. Using parametric 3D modeling tools, the installation was developed digitally to mirror Sennheiser’s engineering-forward approach. This process allowed for quick iterative changes to thousands of elements, creating a seemingly complex execution from simple formulaic rules.