The Public Speaker has been named the winner of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Urban Marker competition for 2015. The interns are Holly Simon, Justin Loucks, MRAIC, Kevin Lo, and Phil Wilson. The purpose of the competition is to create a unique physical marker to signal and to celebrate events and locations of the RAIC’s annual Festival of Architecture.
They propose a Public Speaker that will act as a vessel for dialogue in the public realm and an amplifier for citizens to share their thoughts. The Speaker will also have an alcove for sitting and listening. During festival events, the Speaker can project live audio from the various lectures, so people on the street will have an opportunity to listen and learn about architecture.
The Public Speaker will be made of fibre-reinforced plastic with a lightweight aluminum frame. LED lights will illuminate the large ring and the mouthpiece at night. Calgary fabricator, Heavy Industries, will be engaged to build The Public Speaker. Part of the $7,500 budget will cover a live audio feed. Source and Photo by RIAC.