Silent Space is a portable soundproof booth. It was designed for the needs of LIMINAL, as an audio description booth with the aim of improving the participation of the visually impaired people in the performing arts. It can be placed at outdoor or indoor cultural events in order to host a storyteller who describes the visual elements related to the play. In this way visually impaired persons can follow the narration by utilizing wireless headphones. Silent Space can alternatively be used as a sound-proof cubicle in offices for teleconferencing or for a break from the distracting noises of the workplace.

The structure was designed for ease of transportation by conventional means, on a car luggage rack, and to be assembled relatively easily and quickly by two persons. We proposed a modular construction where a plywood frame encasing sound-insulating materials acts as the basic structural unit. The modules are interconnected with through bolts to form the walls, roof and floor of the structure. Special parts are reserved for the door, acrylic surface window, the custom ventilation unit for continuous air renewal and the electrical connections unit.

The sound-insulating layers consist of two bituminous membranes that act as an anti-vibration substrate, a sound-insulating layer of mineral wool and a sound-absorbing plate of polyethylene foam. The joints between the units were sealed with EPDM rubber, recessed into the sides of each unit to keep it stable. For the ventilation unit we designed two sound trap boxes for the inlet and outlet air. A low noise fan was installed in parallel to the output line.