A collaboration between artist-designer Dominic Wilcox and creative technologist James Rutherford, the Binaudio is a theatrical device that allows visitors of the Sage Gateshead arts building to listen into the sounds of Newcastle.

Styled like a pair of giant tourist binoculars, the device comprised of a Raspberry Pi unit and a set of listening cones, can be directed at over 50 locations across the River Tyne zoning in seamlessly on the sonic layers of the city. From cacophonous roadworks to school children laughing, the earthy scratch of skaters in the park to the raucous football stadium roar, listeners experience a patchwork of their city via found and pre-recorded material. The Binaudios are designed to mimic the way your ears naturally consume sound in a 'live' environment tuning in and out of different aural textures.

For more on Dominic's innovative design projects, read our recent profile.