"Ring my Bell" at Design Biennale Zürich, 29.08–01.09.2019, Design Biennale Zürich

DONG! TRRRRRR! Or maybe even GLING! Or BLING!, MHHHH! And sometimes even BRAOUM! ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne presents an offbeat collection of interactive doorbells developed by first-year Bachelor Industrial Design students, under the joint guidance of Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard, Head of Bachelor Industrial Design, and Mathieu Rivier, a Bachelor Media & Interaction Design graduate. This project is part of the “Sound & Vision” exhibition, shown for the first time, in collaboration with EPFL+ECAL Lab, at the 2019 Milan International Furniture Fair.

Sound and object design are two notions that industrial designers rarely have the opportunity to combine. Nevertheless, most everyday objects potentially produce sounds. Just pull up a chair, open or close a drawer or even flip a switch and you will create sound. What do all these actions have in common? Movement, friction and interaction which draw on the basic laws of physics to create tones. With this in mind, the students have offered a fresh and original take on an everyday object, one that is unremarkable yet never silent—the doorbell.

They have designed a range of mechanical and electrical doorbells that offer a unique, sometimes even thunderous, sound experience. Well-known chimes step aside and are replaced by a curious metallophone triggered by a punch card reminiscent of traditional mechanical music boxes. The former door knocker is now amplified by a vibrant dong! The familiar buzzer has been replaced by an energetic drum roll. The everyday doorbell has been replaced by a curious device that makes a sound like thunder. At last, where you might expect a ding-dong, there is now a stertorous mooing mhhhh! These are just some of the contraptions displayed.

Come in and ring!

Schedule
Thursday (Opening Night): 17:00–21:00
Friday & Saturday: 12:00–21:00
Sunday: 12:00–19:00

Creative Lab
Werkstadt Zürich
www.designbiennalezurich.ch

As part of the Swiss Game Design Lounge, two ECAL Bachelor Media and Interaction Design graduates will also present several projects initiated at ECAL during their studies.