Commisioned by the city of Dordrecht (nl)
Behind the façade of Dordrecht Town Hall the civil servants are hard at work on the city’s future for the benefit of the local people. It seemed appropriate to have the outside of the building reflect something of the plans, ambitions and developments buzzing around in the municipal organization. So when the façade was due to be renovated, Jeroen Doorenweerd was commissioned to make something outside the building that would give an impression of the many activities going on inside it. Doorenweerd created VU-Dordt, a work based on the VU (=volume unit) meters used to indicate volume in recording equipment and amplifiers. Two microphones in the entrance hall register the sound in the hall. The volume of the sound is translated ‘live’ into a series of LED lamps that are visible from the outside from the bottom to the top of the building. The more sound is produced, the more lamps light up and the higher the meter ‘rises’. The two columns of LED lights show passers-by the level of activity at that moment. Doorenweerd decided not to register thinking or decision-making, but instead to focus on everyday sounds such as the clicking of heels on a stone floor or an employee humming to herself. Outside, around the entrance, the sound recorded by the microphones is also audible. This produces the curious sensation of hearing the sound in the space you are approaching while you are still outside. Conversely, the sounds of the space you have just left are still audible when you have just left.