Architecture is ordinarily driven by the eyes, not the ears.
Take the Sydney Opera House. It is visually breathtaking, but it famously opened with terrible acoustics. The iconic, sail-like shells were an acoustic nightmare because sound was merely an afterthought to the visual design.
Contrast that with Shigeru Ban’s stunning new scheme for a timber concert hall in Switzerland. He didn’t just use wood for the aesthetic; he designed undulating, wave-like interior walls specifically engineered to dictate how the sound moves. The shape of the room is entirely subservient to the audio.
Architecture has the ability to change sound, and sound has the ability to change architecture. When Gregorian monks first arrived at Notre Dame, the cathedral’s massive echo forced them to slow their tempo just to stay in time. The physical space literally shaped the chanting we recognize today.
Yet, using sound as the starting point for brand design is an entirely Unordinary Idea. When we partnered with Formula 1 on the identity for their VIP Paddock Club, the most defining element wasn’t visual—it was the deafening, chest-rattling roar of the cars. To ignore this key part of the brand experience would have been a missed opportunity, so we built a visual identity that was actively, sonically responsive to the track.
Working with our specialist sonic branding agency, Amp recently… it was one of the fundamental questions we found ourselves asking…. So why do we treat one of our most evocative, emotional tools as a mere afterthought?
