Larry Tchogninou Gankéké Speaker
Learn more at Larry Tchogninou →A Bluetooth speaker shaped by Benin’s double-bell musical tradition.
Larry Tchogninou’s Gankéké Bluetooth speaker takes its form from the double bell used in ceremonial and communal music in his native Benin. The Chicago architect and designer translates that instrument into two flared, wood-veneered horns supported by a sandblasted aluminum frame, with an oak dowel spanning the top as a handle. Lateral speakers sit inside the horns, flanking a central subwoofer in a magnet-to-magnet configuration. The controls give bass its own dial on the left, while volume and power occupy the right. A line-in jack accommodates wired playback, and a micro USB port handles charging; battery life runs about three hours at medium volume. Each unit is made to order from plastic, veneer, dowels, and aluminum, with a four-week lead time. The project began with Tchogninou wanting to understand the audio gadgets he had received as gifts—a speaker built to answer his own questions about how they worked.
