“We’re bringing democracy to lower Manhattan,” joked David Byrne. He wasn’t launching a revolutionary coup on Saturday morning; rather, he was introducing his latest multi-media project called “Playing the Building.” With the help of Creative Time, Byrne turned the long-closed Battery Maritime Building on New York’s southern tip and morphed it into a nine thousand square foot sound installation that features a gutted organ, a series of colorful tubes and a whole lot of ambient noise. Click above for Byne’s explanation of his work and for a look at how the whole thing works.

[Video: Pete Maiden]