The Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair was designed by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis as a “container” for a sound and light show highlighting the company’s technology. The walls were adorned with 350 loudspeakers that broadcast avant-garde musician Edgar Varese’s Poeme Electronique along three “routes” through the building, while images and colors were projected on the walls. Over two million people visited the Philips Pavilion, but when the fair closed, it was demolished. The Virtual Electronic Poem project used original plans and a stereo recording of Varese’s score to create a virtual reality facsimile of the Poeme Electronique. I’d love to experience it in the immersive helmet, but click through for a 2-D sample.
