santiago calatrava’s samuel beckett bridge becomes a playable harp

santiago calatrava’s samuel beckett bridge in ireland has become icon of dublin’s urban landscape. the steel superstructure spans the liffey river, connecting vehicular traffic and pedestrians with its slender, cable-stayed configuration, while a single inclined pylon at its center seems to subtly simulate the curvature of a harp.

ignited by the delicate yet daring design of the bridge, tech giant samsung joined forces with creative agency guns or knives to activate the architecture as a playable instrument. using the interface of the galaxy note 8, the team orchestrated a live performance, where each the bridge’s cables were vibrantly illuminated in red and blue hues as a harpist played an original composition on site.

gif by designboom / courtesy of samsung ireland

presented as part of samsung’s ‘do bigger things’ initiative, guns or knives worked with developers to orchestrate the spectacular audio-visual display. together they built a custom piece of software that could feasibly transform the bridge into a playable instrument — not only using the note 8’s interface, but also through an actual electric harp. as harpist aisling ennis plucked the strings of her instrument — performing a unique piece of music composed specifically for the event — the corresponding cables were illuminated on calatrava’s samuel beckett bridge.

a custom piece of software transformed the bridge into a playable instrument
gif by designboom / courtesy of samsung ireland

the live performance by harpist aisling ennis took place on september 14th, 2017

corresponding cables were illuminated on calatrava’s samuel beckett bridge 
all images courtesy of guns or knives

red and blue hues activate the architecture 

the project is presented as part of samsung’s ‘do bigger things’ initiative