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Project Title: Hidden Resonance – Decoding the Sonic Memory of Industrial Ruins
Project Introduction
This project is based on the Hidden Door paper mill site as a sound collection point and is presented in an independent exhibition space as an immersive sound installation, exploring the hidden sounds within industrial ruins.
The paper mill was once a space filled with sound—machines operating, paper rustling, workers conversing—all forming its sonic history. But when production ceased, these sounds seemed to disappear with time. But do sounds truly vanish?
This project does not attempt to restore history but rather to decode the sonic information still embedded within the paper mill. Using contact microphones, ultrasonic microphones, and vibration sensors, we will capture imperceptible vibrations and resonances from the factory’s walls, machinery, floors, and pipes, then process and reconstruct them in the exhibition space.
In the exhibition, visitors will enter a sonic archaeology lab, where they will not passively listen but instead actively explore, touch, and adjust the way sounds are revealed, uncovering the lingering echoes of this vanished space.
Project Significance
1. Sounds do not disappear—they are stored in different forms
We often assume that when a physical space is abandoned, its sounds disappear along with it. However, materials themselves can retain the imprints of time—metals, wood, and pipes still carry the vibrations they once absorbed. This project challenges our understanding of the temporality of sound, using technological tools to reveal auditory information that still lingers, hidden within the structures.
2. Redefining “listening” – Exploring the hidden layers of reality
Traditional sound experiences involve direct listening, but this project disrupts the intuitive concept that “hearing = sound.” Instead, visitors must actively decode the auditory information embedded within the structure of the space. This shifts how we perceive sound and raises the question: Is the world richer than we consciously realize?
3. Do the boundaries of reality depend on our perception?
If we cannot hear certain sounds, does that mean they do not exist? If a space is abandoned yet still holds low-frequency vibrations and material resonance, is the factory still “alive”? This project is not just an auditory experience—it is a philosophical inquiry into the boundaries of perception and reality.
4. Memory is not fixed—it is shaped through interpretation
In this exhibition, visitors do not hear a fixed historical narrative. Instead, through their exploration, they reconstruct their own version of memory. This makes history not a static record, but an experience that is actively reshaped by each individual.
Ultimately, this project is not just about documenting and replaying sounds—it is about exploring how hearing shapes our perception of space, how the echoes of time can resurface, and how we can bridge the gap between reality and memory.
Written by Jingxian Li(s2706245) & Tianhua Yang(s2700229)
Project Overview: Echoes of Time – Memories on Paper
This project explores the themes of time, memory, and space, using sound to “revive” a former paper mill. The abandoned factory has become a silent space, but its memory lingers in the air and within its walls, waiting to be awakened. Meanwhile, another paper mill continues to operate, with machines humming, workers moving, and paper flowing along production lines.
This project brings the sounds of the new paper mill back to the old site, allowing the past to reemerge through sound. As visitors walk through the abandoned factory, they will hear its lost sounds. Their actions will influence how these sounds are presented, causing different layers of time to intersect and creating a unique perceptual experience.
Core Significance: Bridging the Gap Between Time, Reconstructing Forgotten Memories
This project is not just about restoring history; it is about using sound to bridge the gap between past and present. It does not simply present the passage of time but examines how memories are stored, forgotten, and reconstructed at different points in time.
Unlike traditional historical reconstruction projects, this is more of a sound-based time experiment. It does not just allow past sounds to resurface; it allows the past and present to exist simultaneously, overlap, and blend into a new, hybrid reality.
1. Sound as a Medium of Time, Not a Static Memory
In conventional studies of memory, we often rely on visual elements such as photographs, videos, or architectural remains to understand the past, viewing history as static and preserved. However, sound is different; it is fluid, ephemeral, and can only exist in the present moment. This project aims to use sound to demonstrate that time is not absolute but something that can be experienced and reconstructed.
In the abandoned paper mill, the goal is not merely to restore past sounds but to let those sounds continue to unfold in the present. The past and present soundscapes of the two mills will blend and intersect, making them indistinguishable at times. This approach challenges conventional historical recreation, allowing past, present, and future to exist in the same space.
This means that visitors will perceive time through sound rather than through static historical relics. History is no longer just a series of past events; it becomes an interactive, real-time experience that can be altered and reconstructed.
2. How Do Past and Present Intersect? Memory Is Not Static but Constantly Changing
This project does not simply allow the abandoned paper mill to “hear” past sounds; it also lets it “hear” the sounds of the currently operating factory.
This means:
Memory is not static but changes with visitor interaction.
The past sounds are not purely restored; they are influenced by present realities and may even be overridden by future soundscapes.
As visitors explore the space, the sounds they hear are not straightforward historical recreations but fragmented memories, recomposed through a process of layering and modification. Every visitor’s journey affects the final form of this “memory.”
Visitors do not passively receive history; they interact with it and change its course. This makes the concept of time more complex, demonstrating that the past is not always absolute but can be shaped by the present.
3. The Boundary Between Reality and Disappearance: What Defines a Space?
The physical space of the paper mill has been abandoned, yet its “sonic space” is being relocated there, making it sound as if it is still alive. This creates a sense of dissonance for visitors:
Am I standing in a ruin, or in a functioning factory?
If a space has disappeared but its sounds remain, can it still be perceived as real?
When sound does not match physical space, how does this alter our sense of reality?
In this project, sound revives a dead space, but the result is not a recreation of the original factory—it is a projection of memory. It is both past and real, but its authenticity is determined by the perception of the visitor.
This project challenges the boundary between physical space and sonic space, prompting visitors to ask: What is real? If a physical space disappears but its sounds persist, does it still exist?
4. Visitor Choices: Restoring the Past or Creating New Memories?
A defining feature of this project is that visitors are not forced to “listen to the past”; instead, they are given the power to shape their experience. Their actions determine the final outcome:
If they continuously explore and trigger past sounds, the memory of the paper mill’s soundscape will gradually become more complete.
If they allow the present-day factory’s sounds to dominate, the past will be overwritten and become fragmented.
If they introduce future electronic noise into the space, the past will eventually be erased entirely.
This means that:
Memory is not fixed; it can be shaped and controlled.
The relationship between history and reality is not one-directional—reality can alter past memories.
The project is not just about restoring memories but about creating them.
This raises important questions: Can we truly restore the past, or is every act of remembering also an act of reinvention? Should memory be shaped by personal perception, or should it be faithfully recorded?
5. This Is Not a Traditional Historical Reconstruction but a Sound Experiment
Unlike projects that aim to faithfully recreate the past, this project focuses on exploring how memory is shaped, forgotten, and reconstructed over time.
Traditional historical restoration seeks to recreate a space’s soundscape as accurately as possible. This project, however, allows past sounds to change based on visitor interaction, ultimately resulting in a soundscape where past, present, and future are interwoven.
This means:
Visitors will not hear a fixed version of history but an ever-evolving sound structure.
Memory will take different forms for different visitors, making each experience unique and unrepeatable.
The past may never be fully restored, as visitor interactions continuously reshape it.
This project is not just about exploring the past but also about understanding how memory is constructed. It challenges the notion that memory is absolute, demonstrating that it is always in flux.
Conclusion: The Core Significance of the Project
This project is not just about sound; it is a reflection on memory, reality, and time.
Sound is a medium of time—it revives a disappeared space, but this revival is not static; it is shaped by present realities.
The past is not a fixed entity but a memory that can be reshaped. Visitor interactions determine its final form.
The boundary between reality and history becomes blurred—when a paper mill has been abandoned but its sounds persist, has it truly disappeared?
Visitors are not passive observers but active creators; their exploration determines whether history is remembered, forgotten, or rewritten.
Ultimately, the past may not be restored but created. This project challenges us to ask: Is what we remember truly the past, or is it a version of history shaped by the present?
This project is more than an auditory experience; it is a meditation on how memory is not something stored in time but something that continuously evolves alongside reality. Whether the past truly exists or can be heard depends entirely on how visitors engage with it.
Written by Jingxian Li(s2706245) & Tianhua Yang(s2700229)
Project Proposal: Echoes on Paper – Fragments of Memory
1. Project Overview
This project is developed in response to the Hidden Door 2025 design requirements, incorporating the concept of time and memory layers. It invites the audience to explore the historical memory of the paper mill and, through a combination of sound design, LiDAR scanning, and interactive devices, reconstruct, reinterpret, and reimagine the sounds that once existed within the space.
By conducting sound collection and spatial scanning at different locations within the paper mill, these audio fragments will be recorded, processed, and presented through immersive installations. This allows the audience to engage in a multi-sensory experience that merges sound, space, and visual elements, transforming the act of listening into an interactive discovery of history and time.
2. Core Concept
Exploring the Sonic Memory of Space– Through scanning and interaction, the audience will awaken the historical sounds of the paper mill.
Sound Restoration and Recreation– The audience is not just a passive listener but a sound archaeologist, piecing together the fragmented auditory history of the space.
Integration of Space, Sound, and Interaction– Through interactive sound installations, participants will experience the fluidity of time, navigating between past, present, and future through sound.
3. Engagement & Playfulness
This project transforms the audience from passive listeners into active explorers, giving them the role of sound archaeologists. Their task is to scan, trigger, and reconstruct the paper mill’s lost sounds, actively shaping their auditory experience.
Every action influences the way sound is perceived:
Walking through different areas→ Triggers different historical sound fragments.
Touching walls and surfaces→ Activates echoes of old machines.
Speaking or clapping→ Alters the reverberation and spatial sound effects.
A puzzle-like interaction: Instead of a fixed narrative, the experience allows for open-ended sonic exploration, where participants must actively uncover hidden soundscapes within the environment.
A unique and dynamic experience:
No two visitors will hear the same sounds, as their actions shape the unique compositionof their sonic journey.
Some may restore a cohesive auditory memoryof the factory, while others may hear only fragmented, distorted traces of the past.
This non-linear structureenhances replayability, as each interaction leads to a different discovery.
Navigating through time layers:
Past sounds→ The rhythmic hum of machines, murmuring workers, the rustling of paper.
Present sounds→ The hollow, desolate echoes of an abandoned space, the sound of wind through broken windows, dripping water, and creaking metal.
Future sounds→ AI-generated noise, distorted electronic signals, fragmented data transmissions.
Open-ended choices:
Visitors can restore the past, carefully piecing together a faithful reconstruction of historical sounds.
They can blend time layers, creating an experimental fusion of past and future.
They can erase history, allowing the past to be overtaken by digital noise, transforming the factory into a speculative sonic landscape.
Exploring the distortions of time:
Visitors do not just move through physical space—they navigate temporal dimensions.
Every decision shapes how they perceive time through sound, making each journey a personal, evolving experience.
4. Conceptual Significance
This project raises philosophical and artistic questions about memory, sound, and preservation in the digital age:
The Paper Mill as an Archive of Memory
The paper mill was once a hub of information production(books, newspapers, archives).
Now, it stands abandoned, stripped of its former function, becoming a space of erasure and forgetting.
The project asks: “When a place that once preserved information is itself forgotten, what happens to its sounds?”
By scanning and interacting, visitors metaphorically “read” the stored sonic imprintsof the space, turning the site into a living sound archive.
Sound as a Witness to History
The project emphasizes that sound is an archive of time—even as buildings decay, sonic traces remain.
Through interaction, the audience decides the fate of these sounds:
Restore history→ Let the past be fully reconstructed.
Remix time layers→ Create a hybrid of past, present, and future.
Erase the past→ Replace history with artificial digital noise.
An interactive, open-ended narrative
This installation does not dictate a fixed outcome—instead, the audience determines the paper mill’s sonic fate:
If they prioritize past sounds, the mill’s history becomes clearer.
If they activate more digital noise, the echoes of history are lost.
Rethinking Memory in the Digital Age
How do we store and reconstruct historyin an age dominated by data and algorithms?
Can we ever truly restore the past, or is all memory destined to be rewritten by the future?
What is the role of human interactionin shaping and preserving sonic heritage?
5. Conclusion
This project is more than an interactive installation; it is a multi-sensory exploration of time, memory, and interactivity.
The audience is no longer a passive observerbut an active participant, exploring and reconstructing the sonic past of the paper mill.
Their choices shape the outcome, determining whether history is preserved, fragmented, or erased.
Through sound, interaction, and immersive visuals, the project raises critical questions about how we experience and manipulate time through auditory perception.
The final question remains: Do the echoes of the past endure, or are they destined to dissolve into the ever-expanding noise of the future?
Written by Jingxian Li(s2706245) & Tianhua Yang(s2700229)
Here is the additional project content provided by the team after the meeting on 2.11.
References & Research:
A documentary about disused military installations called Cobra Mist which explores how these historic sites are recorded through sound, this documentary captures the ghostly sounds of disused military sites located in the UK. The subtle vibrations and changes in the buildings are amplified through the use of techniques such as contact microphones:
Reviewing archival videos of industrial machinery can provide inspiration for our project, helping us to incorporate visual and aural elements to recall the machinery and equipment that once powered paper mills:
akob Kierkegaard’s project 4 Rooms is a sound artwork that explores abandoned spaces and captures the unique soundscapes of these spaces. Focusing on industrial decline and the layered memories of these spaces, especially abandoned environments like the town of Pripyat in Chernobyl, the project can provide inspiration on how to represent the sound of industrial spaces reflecting their past and present decline:
Kraftwerk is known for its mechanised electronic music, which can draw on Kraftwerk’s electronic noises, synthesizer low-frequency resonances, and repetitive rhythms to simulate the roar of machines and operational rhythms of an industrial environment, giving the sound design a more industrial feel. The theme of Kraftwerk – Radioactivity deals with the effects of technology, time, and radiation pollution. Kraftwerk – Radioactivity This song deals with the effects of technology, time and radiation pollution and expresses a futuristic approach:
The project explores the dissolution and reconstruction of time and memory in space by focusing on how ‘place’ is transformed from a clear material existence to a vague ‘non-place’ after the intervention of algorithms. Through the medium of sound, the project captures the soundscape of real space and uses algorithms to deconstruct and reorganise it, presenting the dissolution and regeneration of place in the auditory dimension. At the same time, the project will use the paper mill as the background and the history of the industrial space to present the intertwining of memory, time and space, challenging the definition of the boundaries of ‘place’ and ‘non-place’, exploring how time leaves its traces in industrial sites, and how these changes are experienced by the audience through sound and interaction. It explores how time has left traces on industrial sites and how the audience can experience these changes through sound and interaction.
Project Research Implications:
Industrial space as a carrier of time and memory:
As one of the historically important industrial spaces, the paper mill carries a great change from prosperity to abandonment. By using the sound of the paper mill as the core medium of the project, we are able to present the flow of time and the change of memory. Through the gradual distortion and reconstruction of sound, the project symbolises the disappearance and regeneration of local memory. Elements such as the sound of factory machines and workers’ conversations in the past are gradually deconstructed and reorganised in the space through algorithms, allowing the audience to experience how industrial spaces and memories are gradually disintegrated and reconstructed under the effect of time.
2.The interweaving of time and space:
The historical change of the paper mill from busy production to gradual abandonment reflects the passage of time and the change of space. In the project, we will present this change through different sound layers and algorithmic interventions, and the audience will perceive the transformation from a vibrant factory to a derelict space to a factory space that may be resurrected in the future through the dynamics of sound. This narrative structure from past to present to future will help the audience to understand how time shapes spatial perception, and at the same time feel the close relationship between place and memory.
Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Memory:
Through the algorithmic intervention of sound and the interaction with space, the project is not only a review of past memories, but also an exploration of how memories become blurred and fragmented with the passage of time. The loss and reconstruction of memory becomes an important theme in the historical context of the paper mill. The audience through interactive experience will gradually reveal the sounds of the factory’s past (e.g. the roar of the machines, the sounds of the workers’ labour, etc.), which will become fragmented with the intervention of the algorithm, and ultimately reconstructed into an abstract soundscape in the space, symbolising the regeneration of memory and the washing away of time.
The profound impact of industrialisation on space and memory:
As an important symbol of industrialisation, the paper mill’s spatial and structural changes reflect the profound impact of industrialisation on human society. The project demonstrates the impact of industrialisation on human memory and spatial perception through dynamic changes in sound and space. For example, the roar of factory machines may be delayed, distorted or overlapped with other sound layers, simulating how memory is gradually distorted by the process of industrialisation. This distortion and reconstruction of sound allows the viewer not only to hear memories of the past, but also to feel how technology affects people’s understanding of time and space.
Narrative Structure:
Complete Local Soundscape: In this phase, the audience will experience the full environmental sound of the factory, creating a stable sense of “place.” Through high-fidelity recordings and surround sound technology, the audience will hear the mechanical roar of machines, workers’ conversations, and machine operations from a real factory, showcasing the lively past of the factory and forming a true sense of place perception. Design Approach: Using on-site recordings and surround sound technology, the spatial acoustic characteristics of the factory are simulated, such as reverberation and sound source localization.
The Intrusion of Algorithms and Deconstruction of Sound: As algorithms intervene, the audience will experience the gradual fragmentation of sound. The familiar factory machine noises, workers’ conversations, etc., are sliced into different frequency layers or time segments by the algorithm. The sounds become distorted, stretched, or interwoven with other sound layers, creating a sense of deconstruction of space and collapse of time. Design Approach: Using Max/MSP or SuperCollider for real-time pitch-shifting, delay, inversion, and other operations, introducing low-frequency noise or high-frequency piercing sounds to create auditory tension.
Generation of Multiple Boundaries: Sound layers gradually split, forming a multi-dimensional spatial experience. As the audience moves, they will perceive different layers of sound, each representing a different dimension of place in time and space. Design Approach: Using Ambisonics technology or a multi-channel system to dynamically generate sounds distributed in space, using algorithms to create unique rhythms and spectra, emphasizing auditory diversity and layering.
The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Non-Place: Eventually, all sounds will gradually dissolve into white noise, distorted effects, and silent fragments, representing the deconstruction of the “non-place.” Under the influence of algorithms, these residual sound fragments will reassemble into an abstract soundscape, expressing the dissipation and reconstruction of time and memory. Design Approach: Reconstructing the residual sound fragments through frequency modulation, particle delay, and fading effects, creating an emotional sense of rupture, and using sudden silence to express the disappearance of memory.
Interactive Design:
Devices and System Architecture:Devices: Surround speaker arrays and low-frequency transducers (for tactile feedback), touch interface (e.g., touchscreen or sensors) for audience interaction. Interactive Design: The audience can influence the distribution, speed, and modulation frequency of sound fragments through movement or the touch interface. Each interaction triggers a new combination of sounds, making the experience unique.
Visual Aids:Content: Add point cloud animations synchronized with the sound, showcasing the dynamic changes in the sound field, reflecting the process of the factory going from lively to abandoned, and possibly reborn. Technology: Using TouchDesigner or Blender to transform sound into visual effects in real-time, enhancing the synchronization between sound and visuals.
Summary:
This project, through the combination of sound and algorithms, closely links the industrial space (particularly a paper mill) with time and memory. Through ever-changing sound layers, algorithmic intervention, and audience interaction, it presents the transformation of industrial spaces over time and the deconstruction and reconstruction of memory. In the end, the audience will not only experience how sound shapes spatial perception but also deeply feel how industrial spaces carry and witness the flow of memory and time.
