Recently awarded the third DESIGN 21 prize, in an international competition with the support of UNESCO, that aims at gathering proposals for global social themes, this young Korean designer, Joseph Kim surprised audiences with this system that transforms an ordinary bicycle into a musical instrument.
The concept is simple. At the steering wheel of the bicycle, the usual handles are replaced with two oval-shaped ceramic tubes where the wind sweeps through as you ride. You thus produce a sound similar to a flute, or, rather, an ocarina. You can reach a melody through the manipulation of small keys on the handle, just like in any other musical instrument. The sound intensity depends on the bicycle speed, obviously.
There is something nostalgic in this device that takes us back to our auditory memory. It reminds us of all sorts of noises we created with our bicycles when we were children, from the sound bells to the scraps of plastic we attatched to the back of the bicycle or the sound of a grinder that made itself known like a flute and used the vehicle's wheel to set the emery into motion...
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