Oliver Beer

Pythagoras Stairs, 2021
Interactive sound and architectural installation: organ pipes, organ air blower, motion detectors
This work is part of the GOSH Art Collection and was specifically commissioned for the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

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This artwork is a site-specific installation, an ‘acoustic chandelier’ composed of 12 fully functioning organ pipes.

The work responds to people’s movement in the staircase; as you climb and descend the stairs in the Sight and Sound Centre sensors are triggered which activate the pipes to gently play. The notes chosen for the pipes derive from Pythagorean harmonics, which were identified by the ancient Greek philosopher for their therapeutic qualities.