Tuesday, April 20, 2010

In Pursuit of Silence

In his new book In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noises, George Prochnik says the modern life assaults us with an unhealthy barrage of noise. He traveled the world to find places of silence for the book, including Gallaudet University. He writes about the Deaf Architecture featured at the school that includes lots of natural light and “free-flowing curvilinear movement.” In front of a dorm on an open plaza Prochnik could see that the “fortuitous alignment of buildings, landscaping, and roads, the peripheral sight lines were as spacious and open as the center of the visual field.” Read an interview with Prochnik from Salon here.