Pay to hear the sounds of silence

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CITYLIFE / Hip & New

Pay to hear the sounds of silence

Updated: 2007-08-08 16:45

A German designer wants to sell a few minutes of silence to residents and
travelers in Shanghai.

Andreas Rimkus has designed a series of silence stations - noise-proof
booths that can hold up to 15 people at a time - that he would like to
set up in busy areas around the city, such as Nanjing Road Pedestrian
Mall.

People would pay a few yuan to enter and spend several minutes relaxing
in silence, according to Rimkus, who compares them to public bathrooms.

He is in talks with the city's government to show off the idea, which he
calls Shanghai Art Stations of Silence. Rimkus said he designed the
silence station for the city because he believes Shanghai is a city that
can make the impossible into possible.

The stations are designed like large public sculptures and come in
various shapes, according to Rimkus.

"If the stations appear in the city, they will become the world's first
stores to allow people to consume silence," Rimkus told the Oriental
Morning Post.

He said the inside of the stations looks like a typical office, with
space separated by cubicles.

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