Milan. 5,000 visitors at the ADI Museum had the opportunity to experience MINI Inhabit Sound from October 24th to November 5th, 2023. The project was made possible through a partnership between MINI and the SOS School of Sustainability, a school established in 2015 by Mario Cucinella, offering a 9-month post-graduate program for young designers in Architecture and Sustainable Design. It was the culmination of a training and creative journey curated by Renzo Vitale, Creative Director Sound Design at BMW Group, alongside a group of international students focusing on the theme of Sound Design from the 2022/23 academic year.
“Through the collaboration with SOS – School of Sustainability,” says Federica Manzoni, Head of MINI Italy, “our brand aims to promote young talent and underline its commitment to the world of design by encouraging reflection on sustainability in urban environments, in line with MINI’s philosophy of Big Love for the People, Big Love for the Planet, Big Love for Progress. In this scenario, trends, creativity, design culture, and technology are vital for developing joint initiatives.”
“MINI is an iconic design object in continuous evolution, always faithful to its original while beating to the rhythm of the city,” continues Federica Manzoni. “It remains in line with current trends, while also paying attention to important urban and future city issues.”
The project and MINI’s vision of sustainability
Sustainability in the urban environment is central to MINI’s strategy, born as a small, efficient, urban car in response to a 1950s fuel crisis, and evolved by anticipating the needs of the time to create a sustainable future.
Sustainability means well-being for the planet, its ecosystem, and mankind, whose behavior significantly impacts coexistence and the evolution of living beings. Well-being includes psychophysical balance, often attained through sensory gratification, including the sense of hearing.
Sound as an element of city identity
The course created by MINI, under the guidance of Renzo Vitale, focused on research into sound design, a discipline that plays a fundamental role in project realization.
Sounds contribute to defining a city’s identity, understanding them is crucial to redesign the dynamics of listening and to make conscious use of them for collective well-being.
Acoustics characterize and define a space, and sustainability in this area is increasingly important in architecture, building, urban design, and the production of objects.
Sound, fundamentally an invisible entity, is an essential element of existence, and the installation aims to give sound a visual and architectural form to create a holistic experience in which acoustics and sustainability work together for collective comfort.
The aim of the project
The objective of the MINI Inhabit Sound project is to build a sustainable space for listening, contemplation, and sharing by transforming sound into a tangible, livable form, enhancing the psychophysical and emotional condition of those who experience it.
“It is necessary to build auditory awareness so that individual actions lead to collective well-being,” says Renzo Vitale, Creative Director Sound Design of the BMW Group.
MINI INHABIT SOUND: the experience
The MINI Inhabit Sound installation aims to provide visitors with a real sound walk, starting from the sounds perceived in a metropolitan reality such as Milan.
The experience takes place along a tripartite auditory path representing interpretations of distinct conditions: urban soundscapes, suspended time, and a future auditory scenario conceived in the context of urban sonic sustainability.
The installation utilizes sustainable acoustic fabric and a Raum-im-Raum (room-within-a-room) solution to reduce acoustic field energy, disturbance, and reverberation, creating a space for concentration on physical and acoustic surroundings.
The visitor will experience combinations of everyday sounds and find themselves in an acoustically isolated space in the core chamber, thus being able to reflect on self-perception and the integration of natural and artificial sounds.
Materials and Project Partners
Caimi Brevetti SpA, with its sound-absorbing fabric, furnishings, and acoustic panels, has played a critical role in ensuring the required acoustic insulation for the installation.
The Snowsound-Fiber technology in the sound-absorbing fabric controls reverberation, and the Snowpouf elements use ECONYL® yarn created from the regeneration of nylon waste, such as fishing nets or used carpets.
The installation also features light from Artemide, enhancing the communicative and functional aspects through expressive graphic signs.
A unique sound for the new all-electric MINI family.
Sound design is a crucial element in customizing the products of the new MINI Family, providing different sound atmospheres for the new all-electric MINI Cooper, enhancing the immersive experience.
The MINI Sound DNA, based on the brand’s core values, will be featured on the new all-electric MINI, incorporating completely new driving sounds, jingles for MINI Experience Modes, and sound notifications for information and warning functions.
The new sound atmospheres include distinctive acoustic symbols, called earcons, signaling specific events or information.