Led by interaction designer Lukasz Karluk, HoloDecks is an umbrella title given to a number of projects which focus on transforming sound through different mediums. As with Electric Deluxe’s Audio Transmitted Merchandise, this is best realised in HoloDecks as visualising sound waves; in this instance, first as a computer rendering and subsequently as a 3D sculpture.

Beginning with an audio track, (‘Zebra’, by Oneohtrix Point Never), Karluk visualised sound waves using a custom application built in openFrameworks. The base shape for these visualisations was set as a disc - a ubiquitous form associated with modern music storage - with audio data from the song displacing the shape’s geometry and creating visual abstractions of the audio’s last few seconds of playback. Taking a snapshot of the generated rendering, Karluk then exported an image file to a Makerbot 3D printer which materialised the data into a physical sculpture. This print solidified a trisector of technologically processed formats; ranging from pure audio data, to software visualisation, to 3D modelling; a fairly accurate representation of the direction music visualisation is heading.

A final transformation takes place by using a mobile device to augment the 3D printed sculpture, revealing another level of audio reactive visuals mapped over the object. If it sounds complicated, that's because it is. Take a look at the demonstration video above for a closer look at the project's development. A variety of Karluk's sound sculptures are available here.