savour by Alice Vincent

savour by Alice Vincent

Share this post

savour by Alice Vincent
savour by Alice Vincent
festival hall

festival hall

on public space

Alice Vincent
Dec 11, 2024
∙ Paid
37

Share this post

savour by Alice Vincent
savour by Alice Vincent
festival hall
8
2
Share

Paid subscribers can listen to this post - just scroll down to find the audio embed. A reminder that next week

Erin Taylor
and I will be hosting our seasonal yoga + writing workshop online, free for our members. Upgrade your subscription to join.

Stuck for Christmas present inspiration this year? I’ve got a list for that. And you can always give a Savour membership, too.

It was an apple that was responsible for the dot on the carpets of the Royal Festival Hall. The carpets, like the rest of the 1951 building, are a keystone of mid-century design. During the design process, chief architect Leslie Martin had an apple on his desk. Spotting it, he drew a dot, nestling the “ball” within the neat, symmetrical lines of the “net” - a repeating, not-quite rectangle inspired by what sound looks like through an oscilloscope.

I wonder what the sound might be like if you put the wave from the carpet back through an oscilloscope and into an instrument. I’ll not know. Instead, the sound of the carpets of the Royal Festival Hall is that of my son’s footsteps running along the labyrinthine corridors, up its staircases and along the floating balconies off the high-ceilinged dining rooms and heavy wooden doors above. Footsteps and babble.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Alice Vincent
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share