‘Noise Oscar’ for Organ of Corti · 15:11:11

Organ of Corti is winner of the John Connell Innovation Award 2011

Winners of the 11th annual John Connell Awards, dubbed the ‘Noise Oscars’, were announced by the Noise Abatement Society (NAS) on 8th November at a packed awards ceremony in the House of Commons.

The awards are designed to recognise and promote innovative ideas and initiatives from Local Authorities, industry, individuals and organisations that have made a positive impact on the reduction of excessive noise in the community, helping to improve the aural environment. The Innovation award aims to encourage the development of new solutions to resolve noise pollution problems, using a pioneering approach that addresses this issue from a unique standpoint. The judges described Organ of Corti as:

• “This unique and beautiful experimental instrument recycles noise from the environment. It does not make any sound of its own, but rather uses sounds already present by framing them in a new way – “recycling sounds”. Named after the organ of hearing in the inner ear, it uses the acoustic technology of sonic crystals to accentuate and attenuate frequencies within the broad range of sound frequencies present, like road traffic or falling water. By recycling surplus sounds from our environment, it offers new and pleasurable ways of listening to what is already there.”

The awards are named in honour of the Society’s founder, John Connell OBE, who successfully lobbied the Noise Abatement Act through Parliament in 1960 when noise became a statutory nuisance for the first time in the UK. Gloria Elliott, chief executive of the Noise Abatement Society, said:

• “We live in an increasingly noisy society and many of us are unaware of the destructive effect that noise pollution can have on health, learning, productivity and quality of life. Each of the winners of the John Connell award categories have made an outstanding contribution to creating practical solutions to help reduce noise pollution, enabling us all to benefit from a more harmonious environment.”

The awards were hosted by Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove and Portslade, on behalf of the NAS Trustees, who commented of the event:

• “The John Connell Award ceremony is a unique event which applauds the unsung heroes who work tirelessly to make our lives quieter, here and around the world. We have heard of pioneering technologies and practices that show initiative, cooperation and determination to tackle the complex issues of noise pollution.”

For more information go to Noise Abatment Society's website