Create Digital Music » Buildings as Musical Instruments: Chicago’s Whistling Cabrini-Green in Ruins

Oct 30 2006

Buildings as Musical Instruments: Chicago’s Whistling Cabrini-Green in Ruins

The excellent architectural resource BLDGBLOG reports that the ruined husk of the recently-demolished Cabrini-Green in Chicago has been transformed into an eerie wind instrument of sorts. Geoff Manaugh writes about the image we see here:

The old tower blocks of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green, transformed by demolition into totem pole-like wind instruments, flute-ruins, a musically-active wasteland whistling to itself behind security fences.

Chicago’s Inner Flute-Ruins [BLDGBLOG]

You know what this means: who in Chicago has a good field recording setup and time to stop by on a windy day? (As a former resident of the area, I know the city can live up to its windy reputation.)

And anyone know of other acoustically-interesting architectural sites from your part of the world?

(Architecture and urban planning buffs will want to stop by the site for discussion of the fact that the buildings were entirely demolished rather than being salvaged, reused, and refurbished.)

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6 Comments

sinussource blog » Blog Archive » SÃƒÂ¼ÃƒÅ¸er die HÃƒÂ¤user nie klingen (in Chicago)

[...] Bei Pfeifen ist man das ja gewohnt, bei GebÃƒÂ¤uden weniger. Obwohl. Bei unseren undichten Fenstern, pfeift es hier bei starkem Wind auch ganz gut. Aber das GebÃƒÂ¤ude ist ja auch optisch sehr interessant, so dass unser ghetto-erfahrene Aussenreporter vor Ort bestimmt ein paar Exklusivfotos besorgen kann Das passende mobile Outdoor-Audio-Recordingsetup um die entstehenden GebÃƒÂ¤udeklÃƒÂ¤nge digital festzuhalten, befindet sich derzeit leider im Einsatz auf einem anderen Kontinent, so dass nicht mit tonalen EindrÃƒÂ¼cken zu rechnen ist. Damn. Via: CDM [...]

October 30, 2006 @ 2:27 pm

liz revision » Ruins of Cabrini Green public housing turned into a giant flute

[...] The recent addition of a Jewel, Starbucks, and a row of townhomes on the southeast side of Cabrini Green foreshadowed what was to come for the housing complex. In a strange turn of events, the demolished buildings have begun to “sing” in the wind due to the irregularities of their cavities. Would they sing songs of welcoming in an influx of yuppies or mourn the displaced and dispersed community that has since been scattered throughout the city?read more | digg story [...]