In The Sound of Copenhagen – Noise, Voices, and Silence, we explore how Copenhagen’s soundscape changed as the city transformed in the 19th century. From an overcrowded walled town to a modern industrial metropolis, the city grew louder, more complex and more contested. Sounds multiplied, and so did people’s reactions to them.
At Yoke, we have always had a special love for sound and its ability to carry stories, atmosphere and emotion. It is a true honour to create an exhibition that lets visitors sense Copenhagen through its acoustic history.
Visitors move through three sound environments. Noise immerses them in the overwhelming soundscapes of the past: the harbour, factories, Tivoli fireworks, bicycle bells and the chimes of City Hall. Voices reveals how street cries, bells and instruments have shaped communication and power in the city. Silence presents parks, sanatoriums and institutions where quiet became both refuge and control.
The exhibition concludes with perspectives from young people with severe hearing loss, created in collaboration with CFD. Here visitors encounter a city without sound and gain insight into life shaped by technology, perception and communication.
Through spatial design, layered audio and subtle visual cues, Yoke brings Copenhagen’s shifting soundscape to life and invites visitors to listen to the city in new ways.
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Photography: Molly Grønberg
