Design Map · Eindhoven
Sound of Silence
Graduation project by Hana Polak at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
As humans prepare to live on the Moon, explorers will face a major challenge: the absolute silence of space. Inspired by how coal miners used singing canaries to feel safe in dark mines, Hana Polak designed a bird companion for lunar explorers. It collects grey moon dust and use concentrated sunlight to melt it inside an egg-shaped device. The extreme heat unlocks hidden colours of the dust, revealing the moon was never grey at all. Inserting a personal pendant into the bird’s tail resonates the structure, filling the silent base with music from Earth. However, beauty is fragile. If we exploit the moon with heavy machinery, the ground tremors will shatter the delicate bird. When you listen, the bird reveals the hidden wonder of an extreme environment, but if you are there only to take, it breaks, leaving only silence behind.