Freewheeler: A Rolling Icon of Sound and Design

Private Residence, New Delhi

The Freewheeler was conceived in 1999 as a project by Ron Arad and Francesco Pelisari: a rollable acoustic loudspeaker, fully wireless, designed before the advent of Bluetooth and the wireless transmission technologies that are commonplace today.

From its very inception, Freewheeler stood out as a radical object. Not merely a sound reproduction system, but a mobile acoustic sculpture, capable of freeing sound from the fixed constraints of installation and transforming it into a dynamic presence within domestic and architectural space.

The piece was first presented in 1999 at Spazio Krizia in Milan, in collaboration with Ingo Maurer, and was subsequently exhibited in several internationally renowned venues, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and other major cultural and museum institutions.

Today, thanks to the revival of NacSound and in collaboration with GP Design, Freewheeler is reintroduced in a new edition—technologically updated while remaining faithful to the original spirit of the project.

The new Freewheeler is constructed in MDF and clad in a copper film, applied using an elastic support system specifically developed to meet the acoustic requirements of the device. This solution has been made possible through collaboration with Materica, a company renowned for the excellence and uniqueness of its material joining and surface treatment techniques.

The version commissioned for this private residence in New Delhi features the following technical specifications:

• Diameter: 80 cm

• Power: 250 W

• Maximum sound pressure level: 112 dB SPL

• Power supply: integrated lithium battery

• Autonomy: approximately 8 hours of continuous operation

Freewheeler thus continues its trajectory as a hybrid object between art, design, and acoustics, capable of adapting to contemporary contexts while preserving the conceptual strength that has made it an icon since its first appearance.