MIXED · SUSTAINABILITY — PROJECT 07
Sound proofing & channeling
Two low-tech objects that direct, amplify, and control sound — without electricity
Product design · Goldsmiths · 2023
ROLE
Solo designer, researcher
OBJECTS
The Megaphone · The Olive
OUTPUT
Two working prototypes
MATERIALS
Softwood · Clay
THE BRIEF
Most solutions to sound problems involve adding electricity — powered speakers, active noise cancellation, digital signal processing. This project took the opposite approach: two low-tech objects that use geometry, material, and ancient acoustic principles to direct, amplify, and control sound without a single wire.
The result is two distinct objects — The Megaphone and The Olive — each solving a different acoustic problem, each rooted in a different historical precedent.
TWO OBJECTS — SIDE BY SIDE
The Megaphone
Solution 01
Softwood · 8 planes · ceiling-mounted
Amplifies and directs sound from overhead speakers. Geometry controls the direction; material controls the quality. (Inter 12px 5C5C58 line height 165%)
The Olive
Solution 02
Clay · Helmholtz resonator · wall-mounted
Absorbs low frequencies and amplifies them smoothly. Inspired by ancient Greek amphitheatre acoustics.
OBJECT 01 — THE MEGAPHONE
An attachment for overhead speakers that amplifies and directs sound. Inspired by the Forest Megaphones project — large wooden acoustic structures installed in Estonian forests that allow people kilometres apart to hear each other.
The Megaphone has eight planes, each joining the next at a 135° angle. This specific angle is the key design decision — it produces optimum refraction of sound waves, creating crisp, directional audio rather than diffuse room sound.
The wood choice is not aesthetic — it's acoustic. Softer woods produce warmer tones and less sustain; denser, harder woods create sharper tones with more sustain. The material can be selected based on the desired sound character of the space
As a handheld device it works in reverse — sounds heard from the smaller end are also enhanced and amplified, making it a tool for both projection and focused listening.
Material — Softwood
Planes — 8 at 135° each
Inspired by — Forest Megaphones
Installation — Ceiling or beam
OBJECT 02 — THE OLIVE
Inspired by the Echea Amphora — clay vessels used in ancient Greek amphitheatres and churches to absorb and amplify sound at specific frequencies. The principle is over 2,000 years old and remains acoustically valid.
The Olive works as a Helmholtz resonator — a hollow vessel with a small opening that captures and resonates at a single frequency. It contains low-frequency sounds and re-emits them with amplification and smoothness.
Clay was chosen for two reasons: it is an excellent sound-absorbing material, and it is sustainably sourced. It also gives The Olive a strong visual identity that is honest about its material — it looks like what it is.
As wall inserts, they can potentially replace headphones in ambient listening contexts. As standalones they create immersive ambient sound — particularly well-suited to ASMR and single-frequency audio. They should be coloured, glazed, and finished to match the atmosphere of the space they are placed in.
Material — Clay
Type — Helmholtz resonator
Inspired by — Echea Amphora
Installation — Wall-embedded or standalone
HISTORICAL REFERENCES
Large wooden megaphone structures installed in Estonian forests allowing people kilometres apart to communicate. Demonstrated that geometry alone — no electronics — can focus and project sound across distance.
Forest Megaphones · Estonia
Echea Amphora · Ancient Greece
Clay vessels embedded in the walls of Greek theatres and Byzantine churches to absorb unwanted resonance and smooth the acoustic quality of spoken word and music. Described by Vitruvius in De Architectura, c. 27 BC.
OUTCOME & REFLECTION
Publication
Both objects were prototyped and sound-tested. The Megaphone produced noticeably directional audio — placing it over an overhead speaker reduced diffuse room sound and made speech more intelligible at a distance. The Olive's resonance characteristics were more subtle but audibly present with low-frequency sources.
The project's most important finding was not acoustic but conceptual: the most effective solutions to sound problems in this context were 2,000 years old. The value of historical research in product design is not nostalgia — it's access to solutions that have already been proven by time.