Orchestrated Rebellion
Phonautograph
2085 Narrative
In the wake of the Crude War, the Elite now thrive above the ruined Earth, using AI-generated nationalist anthems to subdue the Exiles who they use to scavenge for fuel. On a particular extraction at an abandoned pumping station, a buried saxophone is discovered—its raw sound shattering the AI’s grip on the Exiles. Those awakened form the DHR, repurposing the station into a monumental instrument, harnessing wind to broadcast unfiltered sound. This structure is a beacon of defiance, turning industrial machinery into a weapon of liberation. Sound is rebellion and the station is their battle cry.
Spatial Concept
This project investigates the role of architecture in acts of rebellion and liberation, through the orchestration of sound and the specific anatomical study of the saxophone. Set within the ruins of Papplewick Pumping Station, it is transformed into a living organ; a machine that breathes, vibrates and transmits coded resistance by drawing upon the saxophone’s structural and acoustic principles. The DHR inhabits the space, using it to compose Morse-coded messages, rehearse their performance sequences, and broadcast orchestrated acts of defiance through monumental sonic machinery. By treating breath, sound and movement as tactical tools, the architecture is repositioned as an agent of awakening, disrupting synthetic control and reclaiming resonance as a fundamental act of human resistance.
