Sound-generated Space

8/9/2019 Sound-generated Space

1/7

1

Sound-generated Space

Jesper Bonde

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts

School of Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark

[email protected]

AbstractCanmusicbetranslatedintoarchitecture?Isitpossibletotransmitthemusicalatmosphericqualitiesofagiven

pieceofmusictoanarchitecturalspaceasatmosphericspatialquality?Thisresearchdealswiththeperceptionand

relationshipbetweenmusic,body,andarchitectureinordertodevelopanarchitecturaldesigntoolbasedonthe

quantitativeandqualitativeparametersofmusic.Bydigitalizingtheprocessescontrollingtheproductionofmusic

andarchitecture,itispossibletolinkthetwoartformsina3Dvirtualdesignsetup.

Asimultaneousdevelopmentoftwoarchitecturalprojectsandthetheorybehindthem,formabasisforaresearch

discussingdifferentaspectsofthetranslationbetweenmusicandarchitecture.Throughdynamicanimations,thearchitecturalspaceandprogrammearetransformedbytheactionofmusic.Theargumentationisbasedpartlyon

thespatialqualityofthenalarchitecturaloutput,andpartlyonthedesignmethodsabilitytocreatespace,that

thedesignercouldnotimaginewhentheprocesswasinitiated.

Keywords:architecture,music,parametricdesign,animation,methodology,computationaldesign

1. PrefaceIsitpossibletotranslatemusicintoarchitecture,inawaythatthespacegeneratedholdsauniquespatialquality?

Untilafewyearsagothetranslationofmusicintoarchitectureconsistedofanabstractsketchinterpretingagiven

pieceofmusic,whichthenprovidedabasisforthedesign.Today,botharchitecturalandmusicalproductionisdigital.Thetwoartformscanbedeductedintoalmostsimilardigitalparametersandthroughthisdeductionthey

canbetranslatedintooneanother.

Thepurposeofthisresearchistodiscoverawaytoconnectmusicandarchitecturetocreateasymbioticrelation-

ship,wherebothhaveaneffectontheother.However,thetranslationbetweenmusicandarchitectureisnotmainly

aquantitativetranslation,butaqualitativetranslationbasedonquantitativeparameters.Musicbecomesadesign

tool,whendesigningarchitecturalspace.Itsinherentatmosphericqualitiesaffectthequalityofspace.

Theperceptionofarchitectureandmusicisvitalwhendealingwiththisrelationship.Whenexperiencingarchitec-

ture,thebodymovesthroughspaceandthearchitectureisstatic.However,whenexperiencingmusic,thebodyis

staticandthemusicisdynamic.Thiscontrasthastobeconsidered,whentranslatingthetwoartforms.Neverthe-

less,usingthebodyasanentityoftranslationbetweenarchitectureandmusicgivestheopportunitytoresearchon

amoresubjectiverelationshipbetweentheperceptionofmusic,body,andspace.Onepossibilityistomovemusic

throughthearchitecture,inordertoapproachthesubjectsperceptionofspace.Anotheroptionistomakethe

musicstaticandthearchitecturedynamic,inordertogetclosertothesubjectsperceptionofmusic.Thisresearch

discussestheprosandconsofbothmethods.

2. Music and ArchitectureSoundisarepetitivetransmissionofsoundwavesthroughair.Itcanbedenedbythepropertiesofsoundwaves:

frequency,wavelength,period,amplitude,andspeed.Thehumanearcanperceivefrom20Hzto20kHzbutin

thegeneraldenitionofsound,frequenciesunderandabovethisintervalisalsoincluded.Eventhoughsoundcan

bedescribedfromthesephysicaldenitions,thisresearchdealswithamorecomplexcompositionofsoundwaves,

wheredifferentsoundscreatestructures,rhythm,notesandnallybecomemusic.Therelationshipbetweensoundandmusiccanbecomparedtotherelationshipbetweenbuildingandarchitecture.Therearesomeatmosphericlay-


2/7

2

ersinarchitectureandmusic,whichcannotbefoundinbuildingandsound-ortoputinanotherway:theentities

ofarchitectureandmusiccannotbegrasped,perceived,andanalyzedinaphysicalway.However,thecontainerof

architectureandmusic,whichisbuildingandsound,canbeanalyzedanddeductedintotheory.

Musicandarchitecturearebothspatialartforms.Musicdealswiththespaceofthelistener,whichinsomecasesis

similartothearchitecturalspace,althoughitcandifferwhenusingforinstanceheadphones.Furthermore,music

isalsoanartformdealingwiththeconceptoftime-usually,linearitywithinadenedtimeframe.However,theperceptionofarchitecturedoesnotnecessarilyhavetobewithinagiventimeframe.Therefore,theperception

ofarchitecturecandifferfromtheperceptionofmusicintermsofdenitionofspace,andtheconnectiontothe

conceptof time.Thisresearchdiscussestimeandspacein conjunctionwiththe translationbetweenmusicand

architecture.

Newdigitaltechnologiesprovideapossibilityformusictoinuencethearchitecturalspaceinground-breaking

ways.Musiccandirectlyinuencethephysicalenvironmentandnotonlytheatmosphere.Insteadofbeingasec-

ondaryelementaddedafterthedesignofthebuilding,musiccanbeusedasadesigntool,whendevelopingform

andfunction.Musicwillgainspatialrelevanceonequaltermswithotherarchitectural,artisticeffectslikelight,

materiality,andprogramme.

Anyquantitativeparametercouldbeusedasadesigntool.However,musicholdssomeinherentqualitiesbeside

thequantitativeparameters,whichcanbeusedtocreateatmosphereinanarchitecturalspace.Musiccreatesatmo-

sphereinthespaceofthelistener,andbyusingthemusicasaspace-generatingparametertheatmospherecanbe

transmittedfrommusictoarchitecture.

3. Technology and MethodologyBydigitalizingtheprocessescontrollingtheproductionofmusicandarchitecture,itispossibletolinkthetwo.The

setupcanbeconsideredasamachine,wheredifferentquantitativeinputscreate3Ddiagramsdescribingaspatial

sequence.Inthisway,itispossibletoobtainthesamedifferentiationinthespatialsequenceasonecanhearin

themusic.The3Ddiagramsformthebasisforarchitecture,discussinggeneralarchitecturalproblems,butwithan

extralayer-themusicalpointofdeparture.

Ingeneral,itisalinearmethodologyconsistingofseveralnon-linearintermediateprocesses-feedbackloops.The

translationofmusicintoarchitectureisconductedasrepeatingexperimentswithaqualitativediscussionof the

architecturaloutput.Theaimistodevelopandchallengethearchitecturaltoolboxthroughaspecicmethodthat

transformsmusicintoarchitecture.

Theresearchisbasedontwoarchitecturalprojectswithtwodifferentapproachestwodifferentwaysoftranslat-

ingmusicintoarchitecture.Oneisstartingfromamusicalperspectiveandtheotherfromanarchitecturalperspec-

tive.Theargumentationisbasedpartlyonthespatialqualityofthenalarchitecturaloutput,andpartlyonthe

designmethodsabilitytocreatespace,thatthedesignercannotimaginebeforehand.Thearchitecturalprojects

andthetheorybehindthemaredevelopedsimultaneously.Itisnotatheoryprovedbytwophysicalarchitectural

projects,norisittwoprojectsrationalizedbyposttheory.Thetheoryandthearchitecturalprojectshavebeende-

velopedinasymbioticrelationship,wherethepracticalandthetheoreticalhaveequallyinuencedtheresearchbyahermeneutical,phenomenologicalapproach.

4. Sound-generated Space_ Housing for MusiciansThisprojectusesthetranslationofmusicintoarchitectureinawayclosetotheperceptionofarchitecture.The

translationisseenfromanarchitecturalpointofview,wheremusicisanimatedalongapathsimilartoabodys

movementthroughspace.However,architectureisseldomexperiencedasonespatialsequence,butas several

independentsystemsinteractingwithinagivenform.Therefore,theanimationismadefrom80differentindepen-

dentsystems,interactingwhenplayed.

Onbasisofthedeploymentofthearchitecturalprogrammeonthesite,musiciscomposedtocontrolananima-tionofthebuilding,whereeachinstrumentcontrolsachoreographedspatialsequence.Byanimatingthemusic

alongthepathsoftheprogrammeitispossibletotranslatethemusicintoananimationofachoreographedspatial

sequence.


3/7

3

Onesystemcanbesetuptoperformlive(Figure1),byre-

cordingmusicinto3DStudiomax,wherethesoundaffects

thedynamicsofaparticlesystem,whicharedeforming

anobject.However,whenusing80simultaneoussystems,

soundhas tobe recordedin advance,in orderto affect

80differentparticlesystemsanimatedalong80different

paths(Figure2).Thetimeframefortheanimationisthe

timeitwouldtakeapersontomovefromthestreettoany

givenroomalongtheprogrammedeployedonthesite.

Theoutputoftheanimation(Figure3&4)holdsanar-

chitecturalqualitydifculttodescribewithoutreferringtothemusicanimatingit.However,theanimationinitselfis

highlyinuentialonthenaloutcome.Itiseasytorecog-

nizethefeaturesoftheanimationwiththedifferentpaths

anddynamicsofthemusicworkingalongit.Nevertheless,

thearchitecturalresultiswithoutreference,andtherefore

holdsa potential,beingtheoutputofa process,thede-

signercouldnothavepredictedwhenitwasinitiated.

The output has thenbeendeveloped according toother

architecturaleffects likematerialityandlight(Figure5).

Still,theatmosphereofthearchitectureisfaithfultothe

atmosphereoftheoriginalmusic,andthearchitectureis

trulyaproductofthemusicalpointofdepartureandthe

dynamicanimations.

Piano MBOX 2

Soundmodule

ActiveStudio Monitors

Pro Tools

Camtasia

3D Studiomax

Sound (.Wav)

Video (.avi)

Laptop

Zoom H2Stereo mic

Soundmodule

Particle systemspeed

Regular shapepaticle displace

path animationAnimated geometry

Figure 1. Live system setup

Figure 2. Animation of 80 systems (screenshot ) Figure 3. Animation output

Figure 4. Animation output


4/7

4

5. Sound-generated Space_ Hotel in CopenhagenThesecondprojectdealswiththetranslationofmusicintoarchitecturethroughtheperceptionofmusic.Musicis

emergingfromanobjectrepresentingthebodyanddeformingthearchitectureaccordingtotheatmosphereofthe

music.Whenonelistenstoapieceofmusicthebodyisstaticandmusicisdynamic.Inthisprojectthebody/objectisstaticandthearchitectureisdynamic.

Asopposedtothepreviousproject,thetranslationofmusicintoarchitectureismoredetailed.Itisnotonlythe

dynamicsofthemusicthataffectspace,butalsothetonality.Musicislteredintosixdifferentfrequencybands

(Figure6) thataffectavirtual3Dspaceinsixdifferentdirections.Thisvirtualconstructionisanimatedinfour

differentplacesinthehotelaccordingtofourdifferentfunctionsassociatedwiththefoyerarea.

Figure 5. Interior view

music

3D Studiomaxbuilding

Pro Tools particle actionstrength8000 Hz

dynamics

lte

r particle actionstrength4000 Hz

dynamics

lter

particle actionstrength2000 Hz

dynamicslter


dynamicslter


dynamics

lter


dynamics

lter

particle system

particle system

particle system

particle system

particle system

particle system

Figure 6. Setup for the animation of the recption atmosphere


5/7

5

Theprojectfocusesonthespatialsequencefromthestreettothe

hotel room,where the foyer area is the main focus. Reception,

lounge,restaurant,andbararethefunctionsthatlaythefoundation

forthetranslation.Apieceofmusiciscomposedtoeachfunction

basedontheatmosphereofthegivenspaceandthepiecesofmusic

areaffectingthearchitecturefromtheinside(Figure7).

Theoutputsoftheanimationsaretracesofmusic.Somebecome

partoftheconstruction,othersarepiecesoffurniture,andsome

remains traces ofmusicwithonly a spatial atmosphericquality

(Figure8).Still,thespatialqualityoftheoutputoftheanimationsarebasedontheunpredictabledynamicmusicalanimation,hence

thejusticationoftheprocess.

Theoverallstructureisaffectedbythesoundofthecityrecorded

onsite.Thisdynamicactioninuencesthestructureofthearchitec-

tureinawaythatarhythmiscreatedthroughthebuilding.Because

ofthe tessellationof thedifferentgeometries,acontrastbetween

theorthogonalandtheorganicemergesfromtheanimation(Fig-

ure9).Thearchitectureisthendevelopedaccordingtootherarchi-

tecturaleffectslikemateriality,light,andtectonics.However,the

spaceremainsalogicalconsequenceofatranslationfrommusicto

architecturewithintheframeofamusicalandarchitecturalatmo-

sphere(Figure10).

Figure 7. Reception animation (screenshot)

Figure 8. Recepion animation output


6/7

6

Figure 9. Sound of the city animation output

Figure 10. Reception view


7/7

7

6. ConclusionTheperceptionofmusicandtheperceptionofarchitecturedifferinthewaythebodyrelatestotheartforms.

Nevertheless,ifyoutakeeitherpointofdeparture,theoutputofthetranslationfrommusictoarchitectureholdsa

spatialvaluewithoutreferencetootherarchitecturalprojects.Theoutcomeisunpredictableinthesensethatthe

designercannotpredicttheoutput,whentheprocessisinitiated.However,thespatialatmospherecreatedinthe

hotelproject,wherethemusicisstaticandthearchitectureisdynamic,revealsamoredirectrelationshipbetween

musicandarchitecture,asopposedtothehousingproject,wheretheanimationonitsownhasmoreinuence.

Asadesigntool,thedynamicanimationofthearchitecturebasedonmusicdenitelycreatesaspatialatmosphere

withoutreference-aqualityofspacethatcannotbeobtainedbyothermeans.Thequantitativeparametersof

musicproductioninuencespaceinawaythattheinherentqualitiesaretransmittedaswell.However,thisisan

irreversibleprocess,whereonecanusethequantitativeparameterstocreatequality,butitnotpossibleafterwards

toanalyzethequalitiesandreproducethem.Itisonlypossibletorecognizethequalitiesandacceptthemaspresent

becauseofthetranslationofmusicintoarchitecture.

Sound-generated Space

Documents

Transcript of Sound-generated Space