CAMARAC

Sound Refuge is an artistic installation linked to the project “I have a problem, I hear the noise”, which seeks to raise awareness about acoustic pollution in urban environments. Its aim is to create spaces of refuge where the overwhelming noise of the city is counterbalanced by positive soundscapes inspired by nature.

What if, for three days, the Poblenou neighborhood of Barcelona were filled with immersive pavilions offering an escape from urban noise and a reconnection with natural sounds? What if these sounds, recorded in Catalonia’s natural parks, were reinterpreted by sound artists to counteract the city’s negative soundscape?

The project proposes a model of what our cities might become if freed from harmful noise, using simulations and artificial intelligence to spark reflection on the acoustic challenges of urban life. Through the construction of five ephemeral pavilions equipped with environmental sensors, Sound Refuge stages a collective exercise in urban imagination, inviting citizens to envision a future where acoustic comfort is both a right and a shared reality.

The project is led by CAMARAC, a local collective of young artists, in collaboration with UNESCO, the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, Poblenou Urban District, the Barcelona City Council, ArquinFAD, the @22 Network, and eight universities and superior education schools in Catalonia. It will premiere as part of the program of the World Capital of Architecture 2026 in Barcelona.