2026

Tuning to place - Designing attention through Ticino’s soundscapes

Tuning to place is a ground-focused spatial sound installation about our entanglement with local ecosystems. Developed through spring 2026 fieldwork at two Bufo bufo migration sites in Ticino – Muzzano/Sorengo and Magadino – it translates 74 days of amphibian migration records collected by WWF volunteers, weather data relevant to a toad’s sensory world, and insights from expert interviews into a layered soundscape. The project decenters the human perspective and frames listening as an ecological and ethical practice of care. Tuning to place is my Master's thesis project in the Interaction Design program at SUPSI, mentored by Mónica Rikić.

Tech stack: Pure Data, Raspberry Pi, PIR sensor, multichannel audio

Read the research: Tuning to place.

Tuning to place sonifies six layers of weather-derived data points from Magadino and Muzzano/Sorengo over the 74-day amphibian migration season: temperature, precipitation, humidity, dryness, wind, and calm.

Most weather layers increase in volume when stronger. Temperature shifts the harmonic tone. One minute of sound represents one day.

Toad calls are spatially routed between Forest, Road, and Pond speakers according to migration direction; metal knocks mark road mortality; and visitor movement triggers field-recorded footsteps.

The sonification is generated in Pure Data running on a Raspberry Pi, which drives three bespoke speakers

The installation

Forest

Necessary conditions for migration: above 5°C, high humidity, recent rain, no wind.

Road

Barriers and risks: traffic, roads, rail tracks, fences, residential areas, climate change, noise and light pollution.

Pond

Toads navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field, walking up to 3 km to breed where they were born.

Darmstadt

Tuning to place showcased in Darmstadt at the Kultur einer Digitalstadt in August 2026. New Soundscapes for Urban Ecologies — Co-creating the Post-Anthropocene was part of the Re-Negotiating Space event series.