Piping hot: Great Ormond Street plays pipe music

Called the Lullaby Factory, the network of pipes occupies a space where two buildings of the hospital stand close together. Patients and staff previously looked out onto brickwork, drainage systems and pipes, but Studio Weave’s creation supplies a surreal world to look at as well as musical entertainment.

Built from a range of metals, horns, taps and gauges recycled from an old hospital boiler room, the Lullaby Factory is designed to embrace the existing pipework rather than covering it up.

Patients and staff can tune into the music, composed by sound artist Jessica Curry, by placing an ear over the pipes beside the canteen. It is also transmitted via a radio frequency so patients on the wards can hear it too.

Installations are increasingly popular in hospitals and create engaging environments for patients and staff and as a respite from the realities of long hospital stays. For more, read our Jason Bruges Studio Portfolio and our Animal Hospital Seed.