The Organ of Corti as an experiment in Auditory Perception In september 2010, liminal (architect Frances Crow and composer and sound artist David Prior) was awarded the PRs Foundation New Music Award for Organ of Corti. The experimental instrument recycles environmental sound through a ‘sonic crystal’ array, a lattice of 96 vertically mounted, 4m high cylinders that create a pathway through which a visitor can walk and experience a passively filtered rendering of the incoming sound. Organ of Corti was toured nationally in 2011, and used road traffic noise and the sound of fast-moving water as noise sources which the structure sculpted to create new listening experiences. The idea for Organ of Corti evolved from a Wellcome Trust funded research project in which liminal lead a team comprising a neuro-scientist, a clinical audiologist and two acousticians in an exploration of the relationship between sound, listening and the environment. This presentation will outline the ideas underlying Organ of Corti and the research that preceded it. It will also explain the motivation.
