Sonic Trace: ‘La Burbuja’ brings radio to your backyard

Sonic Trace, KCRW’s independent producer project featuring the stories of Mexican and Central Americans around Los Angeles, launched a Kickstarter campaign for “La Burbuja” or “The Bubble,” a sleek portable sound booth. The designers of the booth, Hugo Martinez with Christin To, are both immigrants to the United States.

Searching for a portable sound booth design, Sonic Trace challenged architects back in May to submit proposals. About one month later, Sonic Trace’s creators Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Eric Pearse-Chavez had received about 30 submissions. In a difficult process, a jury of KCRW staffers eventually narrowed down the submissions to “La Burbuja.” The idea behind the spherical design is described on their Kickstarter page:

The concept is for a “non-place,” in which the interviewee would be suspended in time and space, while passersby would see themselves reflected in a globe both dematerialized and opaque.

Here’s a video explaining the radio project and the development of the booth’s design.

Sonic Trace plans to bring the booth to places ranging from churches to “tamale hot spots.” So who knows, you may even see it at Plaza Mexico…

Or MacArthur Park…

For more information, check out an earlier post about La Burbuja at Dwell on Design 2012.