Santiago Calatrava's Samuel Beckett bridge becomes a playable harp

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.

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 Aislings 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.

Video of Santiago Calatrava´s Samuel Beckett Bridge can be found here: https://www.designboom.com/art/santiago-calatrava-samuel-beckett-bridge-harp-samsung-galaxy-note8-10-04-2017/