The Seattle Design Festival is a platform for bold design conversations. We believe that design is for everyone and that inclusive co-design practices are essential to shaping an equitable Seattle. We are multidisciplinary, socially engaged and civic minded.
SOUNDW(e)AVE is an immersive installation inviting visitors to physically and emotionally navigate the complexity of social connection. The structure’s walls, crafted from interwoven natural straw wattles (typically used during construction for erosion control) and wood framing, reflect the organic, reciprocal nature of feedback: a process that is alive, layered, and rooted in relationships. As visitors enter SOUNDW(e)AVE, they are invited to reflect on the question: “What do you care for?” As their voices are recorded and layered into a generative audio loop, the installation becomes a collective soundscape—a weaving of care for people, places, and more-than-human worlds. Feedback, in SOUNDW(e)AVE, is not linear—it is not criticism handed down or opinions exchanged in isolation. It is instead a shared process of discovery and dialogue. Just as traditional wattle construction weaves disparate twigs into a single structure, feedback interlaces individual perspectives into something stronger and more resilient.
Mithun
Partnering with:
Arup
Lease Crutcher Lewis
Mithun: Matt Kikosicki, Reid Caudill, Veronica Macalinao, Uwe Bergk, Chris Lim, Aditi Shreedhar, Monserratt Cortés, Evan Fleming, Erik Larson, Ka Kit Chiu, Alexander Ayala, Koushik Shrinath
Arup: Aaron Willette, Nitin Pauletti, Ben Loshin, Aliz Fischer, Rio Sano, Kaitlin Nguyen, Lucas Dubinski, Kevin Huberty, Peter Burke
Lease Crutcher Lewis: Jackson Bordelon, Josh Van Kirk