SEA ORGAN IN ZADAR, CROATIA
The Sea organ is an architectural object located in Zadar,
Croatia, near the new cruiser port, as a part of Zadar's Riva (Zadar’s
waterfront). It is an experimental musical instrument which plays music by way
of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps that
descend into the sea. The steps extend for about 70 meters along the coast.
Under them, at the lowest sea-tide level, 35 pipes of different lenght, diameter
and tilts were built in vertically to the coast. On the pipes there are LABIUMS
(whistles), which play 7 chords of 5 tones. The air pushed by the sea produce
the sound which comes out through perforated stone stairs at the top. This site,
where music is played by the energy of the wind, sea waves and tide, is a place
for relaxation, contemplation and conversation while listening to an endless
concert of mystic harmonies of the "Orchestra of Nature".
The Sea organ is constructed according to the
project made by the architect Nikola Bašić as part of the bigger project
to redesign the new city waterfront (Nova riva), and the site was
opened to the public on 15 April 2005. Concealed under white marble
steps, leading down to the water, is a system of polyethylene
tubes and a resonating cavity that turns the site into a large musical
instrument, played by the wind and the sea. The waves create somewhat
random but harmonic sounds. The Sea Organ has drawn thousands of
tourists to the Zadar.
In 2006 Croatian architect Nikola Bašić received the European Prize for
Urban Public Space in Barcelona for his Zadar Sea Organ project, as the
best among 207 candidate projects from across Europe.
