The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced an invitation to architects to design a mobile recording pod to be used as part of a BBC project. Entitled the Listening Project, the scheme is a BBC Radio 4 initiative which will be presented by Fi Glover, the former presenter of Saturday Live, and is to be carried out in collaboration with BBC Local Radio and the Nations.

The mobile recording pod will be used by volunteers around the UK to record a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they have never discussed intimately before. Following the recordings, the conversations are to be archived by the British Library and will be used to create a collection of voices which will capture a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium.

According to RIBA:”The project has had an impact on many people’s lives already, as well as producing some truly memorable radio moments. Now it is getting ready to go on the road, travelling around the country to enable as many people as possible to become involved.” The closing date for Stage 1 submissions will be 23 April and submissions are welcome from registered architects, engineers and designers.