Terra Cochlea

2025

This work stems from a fundamental question: does nature possess its own language? Terra Cochlea materializes this inquiry—transforming a silent lawn into a giant ear that listens to the city's pulse.

Ⅰ. The Awakening Land
The lawn, once a tame ornamental landscape, is reshaped into a spiraling cochlea—the land's own nerve endings. It captures sounds like wind and laughter, channeling them to a central receiver. Here, the earth becomes an active, vibrating entity.

Ⅱ. Technology as Interpreter
An embedded AI system acts not as a master, but as a translator. It interprets urban sounds—birdsong, traffic, rain—into visible, breath-like movements of the structure, revealing the city’s hidden physiological rhythms.

Ⅲ. Materials Redeemed
The form is cast from carbon-captured steel waste, with each panel sequestering 12kg of CO₂. Industrial byproduct thus becomes a shelter, completing a cycle from pollutant to regenerative medium.

Ⅳ. A Listening Space
The spiral creates sheltered hollows. Within them, city noise is filtered, leaving only the earth's own sounds. Visitors relearn how to listen with their bodies, while the land absorbs and transforms their energy into its next breath.