Imagine a time when buildings first breathed. A gigantic metal vessel rising and falling, its movements made possible by an ever-changing volume of coal gas - used to light the most progressive, innovative, industrial city on the Hudson River: Troy, NY. Home of the Monitor, the perfected cast iron stove, the automated horseshoe forge and the Burden Water Wheel - forerunner of the Ferris Wheel. S(around)OUND is a collaborative artwork that seeks to restore buoyancy and illumination to The Gasholder, a major industrial revolution-era artifact in South Troy. RPI ARCH and ARTS students collaborated with composer/violinist Todd Reynolds to create a work that acknowledges the history and structure of this historic energy landmark, perhaps anticipating its future as a performing arts venue unlike any other.
Close your eyes, open your ears, extend your reach. Explore the sound and surfaces.
Finally, rise.
-Michael Oatman, artist and SoA Professor of Architecture, Rensselaer
Status: Built
Location: Troy, NY, US
My Role: Designer, Team Project
Additional Credits: violinist
Todd Reynolds
arch professor
Michael Oatman
arts professor
Shawn Lawson
arch students
Alex Dorn, Chris Fuller, Laura Fenster, Tyler Hopf, Tracey Klich, Michelle Lahnemann, Kenny Lush, Angie Ohman, Niraj Patel, Anita Rodgers, Maggie Shay, Mat Sokol, Brittany Williams, Brendan Young
arts students
Andrew Bishop, Patrick Buford, Arthur Chen, Andrew Chin, Clyde Drexler, Vanessa Foster, Samantha Galvez, Michael Grubbs, Elizabeth Hambrick, Johnson, Cam Kruzel, Angela Mac, Erin McQuade, Tiffany Milano, Maria Montenegro, Justin Phillips, Peter Skinnerr, Evan Sullivan, Andrew Uhmeyer, Alexandra Untracht, Michael-Evan Williams, Lawrence Wu, Dan Zaharchuk
sage brothers
Bill Sage, Kevin Sage
interns
Cain Reyes, Max Seiler
being our Guides to their wondrous Gasholder Building. Thanks to SoA Dean Evan Douglis; SoA faculty and Smart Geometry Conference organizers Jefferson Ellinger and Demetrios Comodromos; Thanks to
Peter Edwards, David Lang, Eleanor Goldsmith and Doug Van Nort; Thanks to Argeo Ascani, Aaron Smith, Todd Vos of EMPAC; Thanks to Bill Bergman, Ivan Markov, Thomas Mical, David Bell, Carly Brady (RPI SoA); Troy Pohl and John Grady of RPI ARTS; Thanks to Kate Sweater, RPI LRC; Thanks to RPI Media Operations; Thanks to the DiPaolo’s; Thanks to Denise Markonish; Thanks to Jon Dorn and Brewster Productions; Thanks to Carey Organ Company, Icarus Furniture, and The Storage Place, all of Troy, NY. Thanks to Peter Edwards, David Lang and Doug Van Nort. Thanks to Troy Mayor Lou Rosamilia. And finally our warmest thanks to Violinist Todd Reynolds and Acoustician/Philanthropist Chris Jaffe for making PIP a special experience for the students, teachers and community.
Also thank you to RPI Students, Friends and Families: Valerie Theodore, Ryan Muhl, Katie Brust, Parker Bunce, Mangesh Tamhanker, Judson Horna, Lindsay Dubas, Tim Yiu, Ann-Marie Lahnemann, the RPI Hockey and Soccer teams, Suman Patnaik, Kelly O’Brian, Taylor Korytko, Shannon Maguire, Eleeza
Cox, Andie LeDonne, Luke Benzoid, Sarah Goldfarb, Liz Walsh, Tyler Convery, Kenton Phillips, Kateri Knapp, David Penna, Evan Minto, Sarah Hulse, Alex Allen, Tyler Casseta Frey, Jameson PRice, Gerald Franklin, Barnard Kang, Tom Roland, Emily Broadbent, JT Lukens, Phil Hollnsteiner, Max Seiler, John Wallace, Nils Jonsson, Maddy Kotiuga
