Sound Greenfall

Sound Greenfall is a transdisciplinary installation that merges architecture, bioacoustics, neuroscience, and ecology. Presented at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennial, curated by Carlo Ratti, the project plays a serenade to both plants and humans by emitting carefully calibrated sound frequencies that support plant growth and human neurophysiological well-being. Rooted in pioneering research in bioacoustics and neuroscience, the project integrates scientific research with sensorial design to create an immersive, multi-sensory space that advocates for connectedness and new modes of co-existence.

Scientific studies conducted with a team of internationally renowned researchers explored parallels in biological responses across organisms exposed to the same vibrational frequency. Tests on Mentha Pulegium plants exposed to specific low-frequency sounds were paired with clinical EEG-based analyses of human brain activity. These investigations informed the visual and conceptual narrative of the installation, revealing the beneficial effects of the analysed sound frequency: increased alpha brain wave activity in the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN)—associated with relaxation, introspection, and cognitive restoration—and enhanced vitality, growth, and adaptability in Mentha Pulegium plants.

Nestled within an enclosed garden rich in aromatic mint, a series of embossed, mirror-finish stainless steel sheets are embedded in the ground and designed to resonate at a specific frequency, creating cascades of beneficial sound waves that permeate both soil and atmosphere. These surfaces, with their rhythmic embossed patterns, visually fragment the environment, the sky, the clouds, the greenery, the flowers, and even the people, transforming everything into sprinkles of colours, petals of skin, and mystical landscapes. Visitors walk among and sit within these reflective volumes, immersed in an acoustic and atmospheric bath of sound, scent, and a dynamic visual spectacle.

The installation envisions new forms of bioacoustic architecture and regenerative landscape. Rooted in the critical lineage that challenges the retinal era and oculocentric design, Sound Greenfall recasts architecture as a resonant interface rather than a static form: a threshold where bodies, plants, and atmospheres co-vibrate, and anthropocentric narratives are challenged through sound as spatial agency and listening as a design act to reawaken the empathic senses. By weaving natural, collective, and technological intelligence, the project responds to the ecological crisis, seeking to bridge the gap—both theoretical and emotional—between humans and the more-than-human world. In the spirit of a new ‘ecology of vibration’, it reaffirms our intrinsic biological bond with nature, while proposing architecture and artistic practice as tools for environmental stewardship, sustainability, and multispecies well-being. Designed for spaces that foster care and biodiversity—from clinics and rehabilitation centres to botanical gardens, schools, and public realms—Sound Greenfall offers a blueprint for ecologically intelligent, perception-driven, and health-oriented design.

Traverse the boundaries of language, Listen to the sound that sings to the plants, Listen to how it resonates with the body; Can’t you hear that all is one?

[Scientific testing was carried out in collaboration with Cleo Valentine (architectural neuroimmunology), Tony Steffert (neuroscience), Mario Pagano and Diego Comparini (plant science and bioacoustics), with plant experiments conducted at CNR Florence. The project—including its scientific direction—was ideated and led by Sofia Boarino].