During my holiday in Spain last summer, I noticed that many elderly people were listening to portable FM radios. They were holding the portable devices close to their heads, often sitting on a bench enjoying the local water fountain or walking around in the city parks.

Both the radio and the fountain symbolise a way of bringing people together. But as the listeners of radio feel distant and anonymous, it brought me to the idea of turning the fountain into the transmitter of hyperlocal radio. It will broadcast an ambient soundscape via a pirate radio, built into the fountain installation.

The soundscape is made by the composer Remco Langedijk. Multiple water elements were recorded and used to create an ambient composition. It hijacks the FM frequency of 100.00 MHz and the range is limited to 10 meters from the fountain. This ensures that every listener is able to be seen or noticed.

With the fountain broadcasting the calming soundscape, “Radio Fontis” shows in a poetic way that water benefits the well-being of a metropolis. It calms the inhabitants down by improving air quality and reducing city noise, brings people physically together and works as a natural humidifier. “Radio Fontis” both occupies a physical and an electromagnetic space, serving as an actual relaxation point and sonorous escape in the urban fabric.

“I see public space as the common ground where people carry out the functional and ritual activities that bind a community. With my work, I invite people to rethink their surroundings.”



Concept and creative coding: Tom Sibma
Soundscape: Remco Langedijk