Google’s sleep pods are fabled. With sleep disorders on the rise thanks to the increasing distractions of modern life, they’re the stuff every office worker’s fantasies are made of. So what if quality sleep became an integral part of our social fabric?
To wit, UK-based practice Loop.pH are making this dream a reality with their public sleep laboratory, recently showcased in Singapore at The Cathay, as part of the most recent edition of FutureEverything festival. Founded by Mathias Gmalch and Rachel Wingfeld, the firm has concocted countless ambitious projects - think vast structures made from Archilace(electro-luminous fibres), for one – straddling the spheres of art, architecture and technology from their Stoke Newington studio.
Their latest project, The Chronarium Sleep Lab, is one of their most intriguing yet, imagined as an immersive audiovisual environment that transforms its location into a womb-like chamber.
Inside, a mellow soundtrack scored by composer Anna Meredith sets the tone, and visitors are encouraged to lay back in one of the slinky hammocks (pillows are optional). Once nested in your silken cocoon, a disembodied voice gently guides you to sleep while a wash of coloured light shifts through a Technicolor spectrum.
'We’ve developed this 15-minute sequence that is supposed to take you from awake and alert, into deep relaxation using light, sound and touch,’ explains the studio, which consulted with a leading sleep scientist, sound artists and meditation expert for the project.
The Chronarium similarly buffers its inhabitants from electromagnetic frequencies, acting as a sort of Faraday shield. And the potential practical applications are enormous: from airports and emergency services to the military. When it comes to sleeping partners, we’re inclined to get into bed with Loop.pH.
The Chronarium Sleep Lab is imagined as an immersive audiovisual environment that transforms its location into a womb-like chamber. Courtesy of FutureEverything.
’We’ve developed this 15-minute sequence that is supposed to take you from awake and alert, into deep relaxation using light, sound and touch,’ explains the studio. Courtesy of FutureEverything.
Once nested in your silken cocoon, a disembodied voice gently guides you to sleep while a wash of coloured light shifts through a Technicolor spectrum. Courtesy of FutureEverything.
A mellow soundtrack scored by composer Anna Meredith sets the tone, and visitors are encouraged to lay back in one of the slinky hammocks (pillows are optional). Courtesy of FutureEverything.
INFORMATION
‘The Chronarium Sleep Lab’ was on view from 10 until 15 October 2015 as part of FutureEverything Singapore
-
Wallpaper* checks in at W Hollywood: ‘more polish and less party’The W Hollywood introduces a top-to-bottom reimagining by the Rockwell Group, capturing the genuine warmth and spirit of Southern California
-
Book a table at Row on 5 in London for the dinner party of dreamsRow on 5, the first restaurant ever to open on Savile Row, emerges as a perfectly tailored fit for fans of fan dining
-
How a bijou jewellery salon in Monaco set the jewellery trends for 2025Inside the inaugural edition of Joya, where jewellery is celebrated as miniature works of art
-
The motion of the body through space: Rebecca Horn in MunichSix decades of Rebecca Horn's work are currently being exhibited at Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany
-
Meet emerging artists from Oppo Renovators 2021 ProjectTechnology innovator Oppo announces the winners of its Renovators 2021 emerging artists project and says, ‘Everyone can be, and is, an artist’
-
Summit meeting: artists go off-piste in Gstaad -
Making sense: sights and smells as sculptural form at Red Bull Studios NY -
JR puts New York centre stage, from ballet to Ellis Island -
Robert Irwin mesmerises with all things bright at White CubeRobert Irwin mesmerises with all things bright at White Cube
-
Glow with the flow: Cerith Wyn Evans sets White Cube Bermondsey alight -
What lies beneath: filmmaker Martina Amati takes us ‘Under’Italian filmmaker and artist Martina Amati takes us 'Under' in an immersive installation at London gallery Ambika P3
