Sounds of Philadelphia Turns a Historic Facade Into a Living Playlist

Architecture has long shaped the way we move through cities. This summer in Philadelphia, it’s shaping the way people listen, too.

Beginning Jul. 1, the historic facade of the Village of Industry & Art (VIA) at 320 South Broad Street will become the centerpiece of Sounds of Philadelphia, a public installation that transforms the adaptive reuse project into an open-air listening room. For two hours each day through Sept. 22, sculptural speakers mounted to the building will broadcast a playlist celebrating the city’s musical legacy, inviting passersby to pause, gather, and experience Philadelphia through sound.

People sit and talk on stone steps outside a large building, while others walk along the sidewalk; modern buildings are visible in the background.

Photography by Ed Newton

Rather than asking visitors to step inside a gallery or performance venue, Sounds of Philadelphia extends culture onto the sidewalk. Running daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the free installation fills the building’s front steps and surrounding plaza with music written, recorded, or inspired by Philadelphia, spanning soul, jazz, hip-hop, punk, indie, and more. Designed by Scout in collaboration with fabricator Tim Gleeson, the seven-foot-tall speakers—crafted from Baltic birch plywood and MDF—function as both sculptural objects and working sound equipment. The result is less a scheduled performance than an invitation to linger—a reminder that public space can foster moments of connection as readily as programmed events.

The project builds on VIA’s broader mission of positioning artists and creative organizations at the center of city life. Housed within the former University of the Arts buildings on Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts, the evolving campus has become home to a growing community of cultural organizations, making the installation a natural extension of the building’s role as both workplace and gathering place.

Neoclassical building with tall columns and stone facade, people walking on the sidewalk and steps, banners and trees on both sides, city buildings in background.

Photograph by Ed Newton

“What I love about Philadelphia is that connecting with strangers over culture and expression is so much a part of the rhythm of daily life,” says Lindsey Scannapieco, managing partner at Scout. “You’re walking down the street and someone’s dancing, someone’s singing, people are just in it together.”

The city-inspired playlist was curated in partnership with the Philadelphia Music Alliance, the nonprofit organization behind the city’s Walk of Fame along the Avenue of the Arts. The oversized speakers become sculptural interventions in their own right, allowing the building’s architecture to serve as both a visual landmark and a source of sound. By pairing Philadelphia’s musical history with a temporary architectural intervention, the installation blurs the line between public art, placemaking, and civic infrastructure, allowing the building itself to participate in the city’s cultural conversation.

At a moment when public spaces increasingly compete for attention, Sounds of Philadelphia offers something refreshingly simple: an opportunity to stop, listen, and experience a familiar streetscape through a different sense. For the duration of the summer, one of Philadelphia’s historic facades won’t just frame the city—it will help tell its story.

Sounds of Philadelphia will be on view from July 1 through September 22, 2026, at the Village of Industry & Art (VIA), 320 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia. The installation is free and open to the public daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn more at villageofindustryandart.com.

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