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Stiliyana Ilieva Minkovska

09011401

U30025
Issues in Architectural History and Theory
Essay

Architecture and Music

Figure 1: Venice in reflections

3.

Question N3
Architecture has been influenced by alternate disciplines such as film,
art, engineering etc.
Sometimes this influence, on the surface, seems simplistic. Taking one
example from an alternate discipline explore the possible connections
of the work to architectural practice and architectural design. This essay
should go beyond the obvious and will require that the author has a
good knowledge of the theoretical position of the alternate discipline.

Architecture and Music

Figure 2: Defining sound wave materialisation

5.

INTRODUCTION

Music praises God. Music is well or better able to praise him than the building of
the church and all its decoration; it is the Churchs greatest ornament. Igor Stravinsky

Architecture and Music

Figure 3: Physical transformation of a sound wave

7.

Since the Middle Ages, architecture and music


have cooperated with each other. They have gone
through all their metamorphosis together, hand in
hand. Each individual epoch is marked by a particular style of perception and expression. They have
gone a long way together, being refused, abused,
misunderstood or just accepted the way they are.
They both have been influenced and defeated
by the same motives. They both have survived
and revolutionised definite faith and arrogance.
They both have been through honour, stagnancy
and constancy. They both have been united and
destroyed by the same disturbance.
The following text introduces you an art, translated, transformed and accepted as another art - arts
which are able to interpret one another.
Visiting an old historical building with its entire
majesty, people always could recognise its period
of design. Either an ornament or just an elevation
would hint its originality in terms of time, space
and influence. The building speaks of itself. It carries its aeon, its language.
The building contains voices, sounds, hums,
noises and so on. The building talks about inspiration, taste, comfort, interest, values and dreams.
A building could be translated as an experience. A
human being experiences a building and the building does so. It is a return journey. A building carries much more experience than a normal life of a
person could. A building is being constructed, then
bombed, then renovated and then deconstructed
again it is a journey which many designs go
through, especially in times of change.

It transmits time and space; it creates feelings and


requires emotions. A building could be accepted
as a human being as it is designed perfectly by
one, to serve and comfort. People should have
heavy sense of responsibility by knowing what the
building stands for and what it tells.
Apart from what buildings carry in a psychological
implication, they also are melodious in terms of
their division. If they are in peace with one another, then the melody is in synchrony, otherwise it
creates chaos. A building, in terms of its plan and
circulation, should be well-acoustical. It should
provide the needed sound, its specific volume, frequency, speed and an adequate audible solution
which could afford all. A building which has a high
level of acoustic becomes more momentous than
a building which is a beautiful design but vacant
of light and sound. The acoustic of a building is its
voice; you let it be free as long as you give it the
ability to talk. The building becomes not only the
main temperament but the action of the narrative.
The technology is a noteworthy part of the building
process, especially, if it is attending to music and
its presence. The technology plays a massive role
in articulating the specific kind of acoustic for a
particular space. It needs to be resonance-protected, sound insulated; the vibrations should travel
peacefully without any interference. Acoustic of a
building should be prepared from the very beginning of the design construction, from the beams
to the finishes. Also, the materiality is exceedingly
important as some materials would allow but others would stop the sound spread.

Architecture and Music

Figure 4: Shape, space, light definition

9.

For example concrete would necessitate a heavy


structure but the sound would reverberate. On the
other hand, a light structure like slats, would grate
an acoustic diffraction. This kind of structure is not
suggested as it would provoke odd tonal distortion. (Beranek, 1962)
The division of the spaces plays just a vital role
and the building material and construction.
Also, not only the building material and its construction is vital, but the division of the spaces.
They should be separated in a clever and considerate way by providing enough space for the
music to breath, spread and reach human(s)
mind. The plan is the most important part of the
design process as it shows motion, movement and
circulation through a space. It is the drawing which
best describes how the building collaborates with
human beings and how they discover and explore
the space. The plan is the accurate horizontal way
of describing movement through space.
Concert halls, theatres, cinemas, music arenas
(and the rest ) are some of the most specific
projects in terms of music. They oblige require
extremely high levels of acoustic quality, clarity of tone, pitch and volume as well as sufficient
amounts of air space to allow the sound to travel.
These kinds of public spaces should allow music
lovers to both hear and see the spectacle. For
instance, the Greek amphitheatre is a masterpiece for its time; it was seen as simple perfection.
Nowadays, it has so many disadvantages. One of
them is that it is an open space which spreads the
sound and the acoustic is lost. Orchestras cannot
be satisfied performing at amphitheatre because

it is not enclosed and it affects the repertoire, the


melody and the concentration. melody and the
concentration.
repertoire, the melody and the concentration.
On the other hand, an example of a great concert hall achievement is the Royal Albert Hall
in London which contains 3,000,000 cubic feet
volume. It gives good acoustics but nevertheless
it takes time for the sound to travel through the
massive volume. It proves the fact that not always
the bigger is the successful. To provide a hall as
large and with excellent acoustic is definitely not
an easy job which requires time to discover the
Golden Section. (Kanach, 2008)
Sound is created by materials that vibrate. The
vibrating surfaces of strings or membranes set into
motion the molecules of the air surrounding them.
Not content with vibrating alone, these moving air
molecules jostle their neighbours and produce an
outward-travelling wave which progresses at a
speed of 1130 feet per second 1
Well, the vibrations are the ones which give sense
of tone. People can not only feel them but they
can also respond to them. All live organisms are
able to percept and radiate vibrations. They are
related in an endless cycle of rhythm, base and
volume. This is where the definition of material
takes place and it is the most essential connection between the sound reproduction and humans
perception. The material, together with the shape
of the building, is the key to a good acoustic.

Architecture and Music

Figure 5: Jewish Museum - Berlin, Germany

11.

Goethe said, Architecture is frozen music. From


composers point of view, we may reverse the
proposition by saying music is architecture in
movement. On the theoretical level, both statements may be beautiful and accurate, but they
enter into the intimate structures of two arts.2
Listening to Iannis Xenakiss work called Poeme
Electronique which is presented at Philips pavilion
in Brussels Universal exposition in 1958, provokes
deep thoughtful concentration. The idea of what
he achieves for that time is absolutely significant.
He creates an organic synthesis of all arts (Sharon Kanach, 2008). The Philips pavilion is a great
example of what a great collaboration music and
architecture could be, and how two such unique
fields could become an amazing collaborative partnership. When the brief is interactive, the piece of
work should follow the same pattern. In this case,
the sound inside the building should match its materialisation. Through hyperbolic parabola shape of
the Philips pavilion, Xenakis represents his initial
idea of Metastaseis the eight minutes electronic
music piece of work which creates minimalistic
environment through its noise. The work feels like
a rain of glass falling down softly.
The Philips pavilion is a major work, both in audient and visual way. It celebrates an incredible
event of both spatial and musical creations. The
Poeme Electronique is a poetic tool which helps
for the design translation. It integrates all needed
components for a great element of work light,
colour, images, rhythm, sound and architecture. It
is a phenomena work for the time it is introduced.
Such a masterwork designed by Le Corbusier in

collaboration with Iannis Xenakis both geniuses


in their own rights.
Music and architecture could rouse the same emotions happiness, sadness, tragedy or romanticism, aggression or riot, comfort and discomfort.
The music is able to make an architectural work
stronger as well as the architecture could help
reinforcing musical piece of work. For example,
a three dimensional visualisation becomes much
stronger and powerful if music is applied to it. The
music dictates the timbre and the growth of the
emotion. When the peak comes, the music could
easily reflect and represent it in a way which would
make it more distinctive and atmospheric. Also, architecture serves music too. It gives spatial meaning of what is heard. There are millions of visualisations based on musical work. It is either sound
effect translated into a space, or just a noise which
illustrates a landscape.
For example, there are spaces and noises which
provoke dissimilar sentiments but in a comparable
translation. If a space is well-designed, it easily
could make you feel neglected or entirely secure.
If a space is designed on sexual purpose, it could
achieve that not only through its materiality but
through particular type of music as well. It all
depends on the matter in which the architects wish
to accomplish. Theirs is the choice to play with
expressions and intentions. Music and architecture
are just simply implausible tools for translation.
In fact, probably the greatest architectural piece,
influenced by music and built on musical purpose,
is the Sydney Opera House. This masterpiece
clarifies how incredible the two arts could

Architecture and Music

Figure 6: Interior spaces articulation

13.

contribute, unite and translate each other. The


architects name is Jorn Utzon, who gets architectures Nobel prize for his work. (Murray,
2004). This masterwork totally explains the unique
connection between music and architecture.
The same as each innovative art, this building is
criticised, hated, adored, valued and underrated.
It takes unbelievable amount of time, energy, effort and pressure to reach the aim of a beautiful
shape, combined with extraordinary acoustic. The
aim to provide a cosy place, saturated with light,
air, acoustic, correct proportion and materials, is
definitely succeeded in the Sydney Opera House.
Music is architecture and vice versa. It is a return
journey without beginning and ending. It is an infinite cycle of emotional signals bringing you back
and forward. There are hundreds of examples
which could translate one another. For instance,
visiting Daniel Liebeskinds Jewish Museum in
Berlin, a person could experience the holocaust.
The person could experience the musicality of the
murder through sound effects which are represented giving you an idea of how people were
ruthlessly killed. The music of holocaust sounds
brutal and this space can perfectly demonstrate
it. The experience is unique. It gives you opportunity to enter an empty space covered with metal
sculptures of heads. People are allowed to go over
the heads which make the horrific sound which
goes straight to your bones. People could experience the massacre hundred years ago through
a sound and space. The concrete walls are the
collaboration of the sound as they even give
colder and more dramatic atmosphere. The noise
is so interruptive, so strong and so cruel. If people are braveenough to go over the metal heads,
they could realise how just a sound underneath
someones feet talks much more than the greatest visualisation. It is a frustrating and unusual
emotion. People stay frozen for a while in this part
of the museum. It is just memorable moment of
its exploration. It takes energy and strength as it
requires very strong psychic to stand the atmosphere of holocaust music.

Music can represent different spaces when the


human brain has experienced them before. The
wall by Pink Floyd is a projected example of how
architecture and music can be associates. Their
collaboration is exclusively intensive and meaningful. This is more than collaboration; it is pure
diagram, defining a time when both architecture
and music are damaged by consequences. This
movie is a great graphic representation of music.
The story is tragic and extremely influential. Pink
closes himself in a room trying to escape what the
world serves him. The movie shows the provocation of the creation of The wall. The main character creates a wall between him and the surrounding world. It is insulation, represented through
music and architecture. In this case the music
symbolises the world and on the other hand architecture the escape of this world. Shivers come
to ones body if they understand the meaning of
the film-take this out or explain how and why. The
particular time provokes particular type of music
rock music, revolutionary music as a powerful
weapon against The wall. Empty spaces is the
part which best describes how architecture could
be made out of music. In this part the music is just
an unstoppable force which draws continuously
endless figures which are presented as spatial
variations of architectural forms. The whole movie
is a piece of musical, graphical, psychological
and last but not least architectural skills. Architecture is a main presence in the movie. The space
incites music and the music translates the space.
It reaches meaning which is beyond the limited
human mind for this time. Architecture is weapon
of time, people use it to build or destroy particular
spaces for ones benefits. Its a tool used both on
positive and negative purpose.

Architecture and Music

Figure 7: Achievement

15.

THE PROJECT

Architecture and Music

Figure 8: Physical translation of music work

17.

Second year as an architecture student is when it


is learnt more about the transformation of an idea
into materiality. The time where it is required to
explore an interest and materialise it into a shape.
Venice is the place where a brief called Celebratory spaces is given. A site of interest has to chosen
based on a certain subject and this subject has to
be praised, celebrated. In this case, the music is
the specific subject which is studied, understood
and practised.
San Michele isola is the cemetery of Venice.
It is one of the most peaceful and harmonious
places one could ever visit. It is surrounded by the
Mediterranean from four sides and it is covered by
natural flora and beautiful concrete urns. The most
famous grave there is the one of Igor Stravinsky
who is a Russian composer, very influential for
20th century. His grave is just an ordinary gravestone and it represents neither his personality, nor
his music. The brief is made clear. Igor Stravinsky
is the chosen character and his music is the main
celebration.
The chosen work of research is Rite of Spring.
This special composition provokes interest and curiosity because of its perception in the time when
it is presented. Nowadays this is a masterwork but
its first production creates a revolt as people are
not used this kind of dramatic nature of a sound.
Listening to the music, gives completely different
image of what ritual is and how it is represented.
Rite of spring is the opposition of the normal perception of ritual and spring. The meaning of ritual
is presented in the work but with different affection.
It is extolled but in a daemonic way, it carries

darkness and dramatisation. The work expresses


Stravinskys emotions, feelings and state of mind
while he is composing the creation. Rite of spring
gives sense of muse and inspiration which Stravinsky experiences writing the work but definitely
accepted in an unusual method.
Having the idea that the work is made for a ballet,
it is even easier to imagine how specific the creation of it is. When it is being composed, the author
needs to put themselves into the particular space
and imagine motion, circulation, spatial proportion
and materiality. It tests capability of the human
imagination to transfer music into architectural
space. That inflames the interest and the passion
of designing a challenging project.
As long as the brief of the project is clear and the
narrative is notated, the design development has
to be started. There is software called Cubase
which allows accurate sound waves captures. It
is used to help defining particular sound waves
in terms of their volume and frequency. Rite of
spring is a spectacular piece of work which is
based mainly on descending and climax. The vivid
tones are so changeable and dramatic just like
human emotions body architecture expressed
through music.
The music has to be translated into a physical
form. The initial step is reading Stravinskys music
and considerate it in architectural shape. The most
remarkable sound waves are picked and notated.
The design has to be as energetic and powerful
as his work. The shape is defined and the name is
announced Music chapel the place where one
could go and experience music in a materialised

Architecture and Music

Figure 9: Revised physical translation - section

19.

approach through shape, spatial meaning and


emotional translation.
Picking all the striking sound waves, the shape
of the building is defined physical translation of
Stravinskys music. The idea of the design is to be
an experienced journey through his work and accepting the meaning of frozen music.
Frozen music is the melody of Rite of Spring
transferred into a real building form. Collecting the
useful data, from Stravinskys notes to his eventual
realisation, gives the confidence of the design concept. It is meant to be a journey from the introduction of the work to its peak and then descending
again. The building is a reflection of piece of work
which translates Stravinskys emotions and gives
better understanding of his influences.
The design expresses music. Music as a melody,
music as architecture, music as a story, emotions, feelings, obsessions, ups and downs and
last but not least music as vital process of living.
Music becomes extensive architectural shape, a
playground for creation. The broken romanticism,
which Igor Stravinsky brings into the Classical
music, is applied successfully onto the interior of
the space. The feelings which the interior spaces
express are more than dramatic, exactly what Rite
of Spring for the ballet is. The building itself is a
journey where one enters a space and chooses
the route themselves but the building leads them.
The building represents the feelings which Stravinskys melody provokes. Whatever he expresses in
Rite of Spring, is tried to reflect it in the design.

All the dramatic tones, illustrated up and down, exist in both designs interior and exterior. The most
important task is to try to avoid the symmetry as
the tones are extremely different from one another.
They are absolutely individual and powerful as
ones. The right angles and the plane surfaces are
avoided as they would break the harmony and the
synchronisation of the building.
Music chapel is a project where human imagination goes beyond the visible and breaks the
clichs in both architecture and music. This time
the architecture becomes music without implied
sound. The illustration of music is the shape of a
building which gives universal definition of music
in a stoned form. The rhythm is the light; the base
is the concrete and the tone is the human being.
They navigate the motion and the frequency of the
sound.
(Material x Sound)/Time = (Material x Light)/
(Space ) [3] (Elizabeth Martin, 1994)
This revised study by Steven Holl is extremely
useful for defining materiality and light to the
design. The first part of the equation is defined
and the second part requires understanding and
practice of the first one and then translation to the
spatial one. However, the chosen material is concrete as concrete is the best material for expressing strong dramatic emotions. Having thousands
of examples of concrete influence Daniel Liebeskinds Jewish museum interior, Peter Eisenmanns
Jewish memorial, David Chipperfields extension
to San Michele all these precedent studies give
confidence in the chosen material. Concrete is the
perfect translation of a powerful expression.

Architecture and Music

Figure 10: Me experiencing the space

21.

On the other hand, the shape has its accent which


is stained glass cuts which flow along the building surface. These cuts allow the light to come
through and play a shading game through prism
as the stained glass is in the shape of prism. Also,
the stained glass is a famous Venetian production
which makes the project relevant not only to music
but to Venice as well. The light is the element of
sound transferred into the shape.
The project is a sequence of many studies based
on music, architecture, translation of one another
and their collaboration. The project gives understanding of architecture through music and vice
versa. It is an infinite cycle with beginning which is
an idea, but with no end, which is humans imagination.
The cycle is simple composer music notes
sound wave frequency and volume translation
into architecture musicality but there is much
deeper understanding applied to this design, the
understanding of a music work in architectural approach.

Architecture and Music

Figure 11: Musicality in San Michele

23.

Architecture could reach humans interest by any


kind of art, even a simple one as music. Music,
which is able to define space, landscape, even
time, only if you let it do so. Architecture could be
translated through whatever humans imagination
could aim to reach. Art, engineering, music, film,
psychologically or physically, architecture finds the
right way to design itself. If only you wish to see or
get to know it, it stands right in front of you. From
the latest designer shoes to the most virgin beach
where only the breeze is the music in your heart,
the same way architecture provokes or requires
different areas of subjects to be translated; it is
being translated through them. The wall- is it
just a song, or a state of mind, or an architectural
masterpiece, or fear, maybe a barrier or claustrophobia? You give the freedom of imagination and it
lets build itself. Music constructs architecture and
architecture embodies music.
If I could translate architecture through myself, I
would never stop dancing in synchrony with the
landscape. I would illustrate motion through body
language and I would formulate own rhythm which
would express my music.

Architecture and Music

INDEX
1 Beranek, Leo L. (1962). Music, acoustics and architecture. New York London: John Wiley and sons, inc.. p13.
2 Kanach, Sharon (2008). Music and architecture by Iannis Xenakis. New York: Pendragon Press. p46
3Martin, Elizabeth (1994). Architecture as a translation of music. New York: Princeton Architectural press. p56.

BOOK REFERENCE
Beranek, Leo L. (1962). Music, acoustics and architecture. New York London: John Wiley and sons, inc. p1-11, p3160, p393-433.
Bright, Michael (1984). Cities built to music. Ohio : Ohio State university press: Columbus. p71-89.
Gerace, Gloria (2003). Syphony:Frank Gherys walt disney concert hall. Canada: Blanchette Press. p115-144.
Kanach, Sharon (2008). Music and architecture by Iannis Xenakis. New York: Pendragon Press. p3-158.
LaBelle, Brandon (2006). Background noise perspectives on sound art. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p47-85, p108-120, p167-192, p295-298.
Littlefield, David and Lewis, Sasika (2007). Architectural voices. Great Britain: Wiley-academy. p17-47, p86-97,
p120-123.
Martin, Elizabeth (1994). Architecture as a translation of music. New York: Princeton Architectural press. p8-35,
p41-53, p56-59, p64-67.
Murray, Peter (2004). The saga of Sydney Opera House . London, New York: Spon Press. p1-22, p92-114.
Sacks, Oliver (1989). Seeing Voices. London: Pan Books Ltd. p84-100.

25.
MUSIC SCORES
Hinant, Guy Mark. (2001). An anthology of noise and electronic music/first a-chronology 1921-2001. Brussels: SUB ROSA

WEBSITES
Floyd, Pink. (2006). Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_bvTDGcWw. Last accessed 10th May 2011.
Floyd, Pink. (2006). Pink Floyd The Wall - Is There Anybody Out There?. Available: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Pr-JoqFVC5E. Last accessed 10th May 2011.
Xenakis, Iannis. (2006). Iannis Xenakis - Metastasis. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZazYFchLRI.
Last accessed 10th May 2011.
IMAGES
All the images, provided for this work, are personal archive from design development of Music chapel.

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