The Anechoic Naad Darkoom (A.N.D.)   

A Prosodic Body Research Project: 

"At home in darkness, both light and the word open to us." Parmenides

Our process is a completely integrated approach. All aspects of the project are equally creative and responsive to a perceived social need: advanced building systems, the purpose of the building (the realization of a new artscience), how we organize the construction (integrated process from conception to drawing to fabrication) and use of the building (all levels of practictioners, co-curators, rotating programmers and guest speakers). 

• A.N.D. will be a soundproof, lightproof space built amid the bustle and hubbub of lower Manhattan's financial district. This space is conceived as a public utility. Users of the space (pedestrians, serious practitioners and researchers) will spend various lengths of time in darkness and silence. Data will be gathered by drawing upon disciplines such as endocrinology, neurology, psychoacoustics, photobiology, contemplative science and concentration practices
• .N.D. is also designed to introduce specific colors and soundwaves. We will produce rigorous, diagnostic records developed from qualitative and quantitative testing of the effects of tone, beat, frequency, color and darkness on bioprocesses such as melatonin production, circadian rhythms, muscle tension, cardiorespiratory sync, limbic kindling, oxygen saturation immunoglobulin levels and blood pressure. This combinatory diagnostic tool (which we call a 'prosodogram') may find use in therapeutic settings or in the applied arts.
• A.N.D. is one component of a larger building called the Prosody Building. We are working toward building the Darkroom as an autonomous structure with the capability of being disassembled and moved to a subsequent location. 
• We use the Sanskrit word naad because it conveys the full implication of sound as no other word can. In addition to simply meaning ‘sound’, it also means vibration, pulse, pressure, waveform, fundamental or formative frequency, sound current and harmony; with an emphasis on the ‘phonic’ (i.e. voice, intent, logos, scripture, word signal as maximally meaningful). 

The video below is the first iteration of The Anechoic Naad Darkroom research realized in 2008 with a residency at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. 

© Prosodic Body