Phase Three: Research
As a reminder, my intervention idea for my space was to hang a box, or an interesting geometry shape from the ceiling big enough to fit a persons head and shoulders, and fill the inside of the shape with a sound absorbent material, such as felt, or cork, or even both for aesthetics and extra sound absorption, and the person who receives a phone call will be able to go stand under the installation and have whatever private conversation they want, without being disrupted by the sounds of the machines, or even have anyone over hear their conversation. The idea is to isolate the sound to get the privacy they need. They will be in their own private spot, they will be standing in their space of satisfaction.
Cone Of Silence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_of_Silence_(device)
I began to research other projects that connect to my intervention idea and i discovered the “cone of silence”. The essence of this device is that it is designed for purely private conversations, so people do not over hear what you are saying. Which is exactly what my goal is. I want people to be able to talk in privacy with being disrupted or disrupting others. The “cone of silence” is actually a slang phrase meaning that the speaker wishes to keep the indicated information secret and that the conversation should not be repeated to anyone not currently present. This apparatus is actually from a comedy from the 1960s called Get Smart and the cone makes an appearance in the first episode. The cone is so silent that the two characters could not hear each other, making communication close to impossible.
Here is a video showing how the the cone of silence works:
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1eUIK9CihA
As you can see the two characters are finding it very difficult to communicate because the sound is being isolated from each other creating privacy.
These are some reference images of the apparatus:
Comfort -Shell:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/6/7504957/selentium-comfort-shell-giant-cone-of-silence-ces-2015
Another reference i found that links with my intervention is the “Comfort-Shell” This is part of a companies Quiet-Bubble noise control system and it is created to essentially cancel out any surrounding noises. It’s specifically designed to work with mobile phones, allowing users to make phone calls or listen to music in relative peace. It is the best way to create privacy, and an anti-noise system without actually creating a barrier between the user and the outside environment.
Here is a video of the effects of the comfort shell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAv_fpjXe60%20
As you can see the person under the comfort shell was not able to hear any of the surrounding sounds, he is just sitting under the shell in complete isolation, in complete privacy, and this is the goal for my intervention, to allow the users to be able to cut themselves out of the outside environment without actually having to leave the room.
Here are some reference images of this device:
Poster for the Comfort -Shell:
