Listen to This Building
LISTEN TO THIS BUILDING was a groundbreaking program that sought to bridge the understanding between downtown Miami architecture, independent publishing, and accessibility, specifically addressing visual impairments. To commemorate the exhibition at the Miami Center for Architecture & Design, EXILE produced an artist’s book in which architectural narratives were rendered via touch and sound. There were no photographs or printed text in the publication, only tactile reliefs of each building, effectively compelling the viewer to experience Miami through new and distinct paradigms. Opening September 3, 2015, the exhibition coincides with the 25th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act. In doing so, it brought together tactility, sound, and thematic programming to explore alternative modes of experiencing one's city and better understand how those without sight navigate their surroundings and advocate for universal design.
This spiral bound 11" x 11.5" book boasts tactile illustrations of ten historical, architecturally significant downtown Miami buildings, corresponding braille descriptions with english transcriptions, as well as a CD with LISTEN TO THIS BUILDING's full-length audio component and a raised map highlighting each featured site. Buildings included were The Old US Post Office & Courthouse, Security Building, Gesu Church, Alfred I. Dupont Building, Olympia Theater at Gusman Center, Seybold Building, Walgreens Building, Shoreland Arcade, Foremost Building, and the Freedom Tower.
Printing and consulting for the project generously provided by Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Tactile illustrations offered by John De Salvo and Judith McBrien as featured in Norton’s Pocket Guide to Miami Architecture.
EXILE Editions, 2015
Edition of 100
41 pages, spiral bound
Thermoform, braille by Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, CD
Design: Edwin Beauchamp
11” x 11.5”
Sold out.
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