Sounds of Stabi, Audio-CD, MP3

The Stabi, the State Library of Berlin at the Kulturforum, is one of the most famous library buildings of the post-war era. Designed by its architect Hans Scharoun as a large, open space, the building spans several floors. This openness serves both as an aesthetic and a politically symbolic program of the building - much to the concern of its acoustic consultant Lothar Cremer, whom Scharoun consulted for the construction of the Stabi. In the quiet, yet not entirely silent reading room, not only are the sounds of studying, reading, and handling books audible, but also the associated discourses, ideas, and fantasies in the form of clattering laptop keyboards, rustling paper, sneezes, and coughs. What ideas about reading, writing, and various other practices of knowledge, or Scharoun's architectural language, can be discerned from their sound? To explore questions like these and capture the unique soundscape of the Stabi, speak low has created audio recordings on-site. The original recordings are complemented by texts and sound bites from well-known regulars of the Stabi, creating an acoustic portrait of the iconic building.