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Gigantic Wooden Megaphones Amplify the Quiet Sounds of a Natural Forest

On display in an Estonian forest near Tallinn is ruup, an installation of three gigantic wooden megaphones that amplify the typically-quiet sounds of nature. The project was created by interior architecture students at the Estonian Academy of the Arts, and it's intended as a site of relaxation. Here, visitors can enjoy the symphony of the forest–faintly chirping birds, rustling leaves, and babbling brooks are now within earshot. In addition to intensifying the surrounding environment, these three-foot-diameter instruments serve as bandstands for cultural events and concerts, as well as shelters for wanderers, hikers, and campers.

The students' project was launched a year ago, but has just recently come to fruition. It began with a workshop deep in the South Estonian woods, and they worked with semiotician and author Valdur Mikiti to create a “forest library,” a place where people could listen and “read” through sound. They proposed several concepts, but ultimately settled on student Birgit igus' idea of the massive megaphone sculptures.

If you're in Estonia and interested in seeing the megaphones for yourself, Ruup is situated near RMK's Phni Nature Center in a remote locale so that visitors can disconnect and truly feel at one with nature.

Above photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Photo credit: Henno Luts

Photo credit: Henno Luts

Photo credit: Henno Luts

Photo credit: Tnu Tunnel

Estonian Academy of Arts: Website
via [designboom, The Creator's Project]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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