Sphere Packing : Bach 2.0

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

2022

A monumental sound architecture designed to combine transportability, acoustic precision, and formal elegance.
Location
Montreal, Canada
Concept
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
Industrial design
Generique Design
Photography
Rosebudz Productions, Guy L'Heureux, Mariana Yañez

Sphere Packing: Bach 2.0 is an immersive artwork composed of a 3-metre-diameter sphere housing 1,128 speakers, each broadcasting a different composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. The result is a dense, polyphonic, and evolving sound environment that visitors can physically enter—punctuated by dynamic sequences in which certain speakers switch off to let a single musical piece emerge. Each speaker is paired with an amber LED light indicating its activation.

For this second version of the work, Generique Design redesigned the physical support structure, optimized for assembly, disassembly, and transport. The sphere is built from powder-coated aluminum and lacquered maple, and splits into nine modules for ease of mobility. Behind the scenes, a complex network of 11 km of cabling connects to a custom patchbay driven by bespoke software.

Generique Design handled industrial design and fabrication supervision, ensuring a balance between technical precision, aesthetics, and logistical constraints. The work was presented in 2024 as part of the Artis exhibition at the Baker Museum in Naples, Florida.

Osaka 2025 Expo – Viewer

JKFL
2025

Blueprint

Alain Paiement
2025

Recurrent Rayuela 2.0

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
2024

Transparency Display

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
2024

Gamelin seesaw

Quartier des spectacles Partnership
2024

Quartier-du-Musée

Enclume
2024

Memory Contours

Joyce Joumaa
2024

Peel Trail

City of Montreal
2024

Village Québécois d’Antan – Telephones

Moment Factory
2023

Chasing Waterfalls

Hidden Edges collective (Myriam Bleau, Lucas Paris)
2023

Musical swings – Buchheim museum

Daily Tous Les Jours
2023

Daydreamer – South Bend

Daily Tous Les Jours
2022

Ad Astra

Société des Archives Affectives
2021

Balancing Act

Daily Tous Les Jours
2020

Pavilion identification signage

Université du Québec à Montréal
2018

Loop

EKUMEN (Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve)
2016

Waste containers

SÉPAQ
2016

Impulse

CS Design
2015

21 Swings

Daily Tous Les Jours
2011

Pixiness

Society for arts and technologies (SAT)
2011

Your idea leads the process. We support you with rigour, flexibility, and curiosity—at every stage.