Architecture as a Stimulus for Movement pt1

The title "Building as a Stimulus for Movement" comes from Kent Bloomer and Charles Moore's "Body, Memory, and Architecture" (the chapter "Body Movement" is actually a contribution by Robert J. Yudell"). The chapter asserts that the movement of our bodies is affected by the animation of space, and thus the spaces we create, tend to embody our own natural rhythms of movement.

"The ebbs and flows, weights, rhythms, and surges that emanate from us are inherent in the body and its movements. Try to walk in a precise and even measures. Even if you succeed in doing so horizontally, as in a march, there will still be complex rhythmic events in the vertical dimension (the raising and lowering of the chest with breathing and the changes in the relative alignment of body weight), not to mention the internal rhythms of heart and pulse.

Given this rhythmic richness which we all possess, and the fact that patterns as mundane as pavement cracks and picket fences can elicit complex haptic responses, we might well wonder why any building cannot be as good as the next in generating a body response."

- Robert J. Yudell

Yudell goes on to criticize today's repertoire of movement, saying that our bodies are increasingly becoming immobilized. While automobile and transit technology have been able to connect places and open up vast landscapes of space we would have never thought of treading before, it is slowly turning us into what Yudell calls "frozen bodies". The idea of the procession and promenade of pilgrimage is diminishing, so in a sense, it could be argued that we don't appreciate our spaces as much as we used to. The end location is becoming much more important that the journey that we go through to reach such a location. In Topophillia, Yi-Fu Tuan talks about this end-location mindset:

"Walking purposefully from A to B is felt as leaving so many steps behind and as having much more ground ahead to cover. Change the environment by introducing band music and, objectively, one still marches from A to B with seeming deliberation. Subjectively, however, space and time have lost their directional thrust under the influence of rhythmic sound. Each step is no longer just another move along the narrow path to a destination; rather it is striding into open an undifferentiated space. The idea of a precisely located goal loses relevance."

- Yi-Fu Tuan

Pamplet Architecture's "Architecture as a Translation of Music" cites numerous examples of how musical rhythm can affect one's movement and awareness of space. Elizabeth Martin introduces the subject-matter, saying that while "architecture represents the art of design in space; music is the art of design in time." If one flattens the dimension of time, into a 2D surface (in the same way sheet music does), one could really play arround with different rhythmic patterns onto the surface. Mannerist Facades often compose their surfaces that way, using some kid of parts to serve as the metronome (datum) and other parts to play up these rhythmic changes. The Renaissance ideal of harmony gave way to freer and more imaginative rhythms. Giulio Romano (1499-1546), one of the first promoters of Mannerism, used the triglyphs on the facade of Palazzo Te in Mantua as the metronome element, where all the spacings are equal, while the intervals of the intercolumnination differed creating a rhythmic pattern on the facade. Looking closely to the image below, one could read the facade giving an ABABAC rhythm, and more specifically, if one imagines each triglyph forms a 1/16th note, one could read the columns forming a musical rhythm of 1/8th - 1/4th - 1/8th - 1/4th - 1/8th - 5/16th.

Le Corbusier's La Tourette covenant also uses this same play of rhythm in the architecture. Iannis Xenakis, Le Corbusier's right hand man and internationally well known 20th century composer, designed parts of the facade to correspond to some of his musical compositions. The seemingly irregular window mullion intervals of the lower levels, juxtaposed with the pompous window openings of the upper levels (which serves as a datum, or metronome, for the irregular mullions below), creates a phenomenological play of light and shadow in the interior. The rhythmic intervals of the La Tourette facade is alot more complex than that of Romano's Palazzo Te. This is mostly due to the fact that Xenakis bases his musical intervals on mathematical ideas like the golden section and fibonacci series (more on that when I blog on Xenakis work within the next few weeks).

In Professor Noonan's seminar "Sensing Architecture: Body & Place", Ritsaart Marcelis and I worked on a project draft together that talks about this issue of musical rhythms that affect promenade. The following animation investigates how a procession through a colonnade could be altered using different musical rhythm patterns to dictate the intercolumnination. 

The criticism presented in class was that the animation seemed to rigid, and unmusical. This animation lacks two very important aspects of music: layering and attitude. While the animation is a direct translation of rhythm written down on sheet music, audible music is seldom played with one layer of rhythm. Even the most mono-rhythmic music, you will find multiple layers within the rhythm to give it a more powerful output. The animation above is the equivalent of a guitar student, playing a rock riff acapella; you dont have the rest of the band (datum) to fully grasp the idea of the music.

 Attitude (dynamics and cresendo) is also a very important aspect in music. This is why a classical musical piece would sound different when it is being led by one conductor than another, as each conductor would understand the whole mood of the piece subjectively. This is also why many blues guitarists are considered to have "soul", as the selection of what notes are important to be emphasized and attacked, while what notes are known as leading notes. The same solo, if played without the emphasis on these select notes, would also feel unmusical. 

The notion of attitude and poly-rhythmic layers is also found in architecture. The use and hierarchy of Michelangelo's "Super-order" on his facades could be read as the visual correspondence of a multi-rhythmic compositions. Looking at Palazzo dei Conservatori, at the Campidoglio, the balustrades on the roof serves as the metronome (it could be argue that the dentils of the cornice has the same effect), with the Giant Corinthian pilasters serving as the hierarchical rhythmic stomps. The intervals between each Corinthian pilaster and the other is equidistant, as opposed to that of Palazzo Te, which means in auditory terms, the musical rhythm would be that of a pounding heartbeat (imagine a POMP - POMP - POMP musical piece). The intercolumnination of the ionic columns on the lower floor, and the smaller Corinthian columns on the floor above to support the window openings, are what provides the variations in the rhythmic patterns of the facade. So in drumming terms, if you would take the giant Corinthian pilaster as the booming bass drum, the ionic columns on the lower floor as the lesser impact Ionic column as the loud yet lesser impacted snare drum, and the variation of window openings and division of balustrades as subtle playing on the hi-hat, then Palazzo dei Conservatori has been transformed into a simple drum rhythm.





This idea that Palazzo dei Conservatori is analogous to a modern drum rhythm is an interesting one. As classical music of that time is much more melodic based as opposed to rhythm based, it is worthwhile to find out if that analogy has any correspondence to the evolution of music in Europe around that time.

Architecture as an Instrument for Music pt1

Sound production depends on two factors; resonating volumes and choice of materials. Musical instrument tectonics is based on the size, shape, and volume of the resonating chamber and the qualities of the materials used. This is the reason why steel stringed folk acoustic guitars sound different than nylon string classic guitars, and why both sound incredibly different than the nylon string middle eastern 'ud (the lute's precedent). The decisions made in both factors affect the reverberation time and the tonal quality of the sound produced.

The same could be argued with architecture. An instrument is merely a device that amplifies the sound, so architectural spaces could be seen as large scale instruments. In concert halls, the acoustics of the space is considered to be the last piece of the puzzle that synergizes the orchestra and blends all the musical instrument so it is perceived as one artifact, as opposed to fragmentary musical lines played collectively. This means that any concert performance would sound slightly different according to the space that it is being played it, as each concert hall as a unique acoustical identity. Aside from concert halls, every architectural space carries sound different than its neighbor. Granted that with small scale rooms these changes in aural quality are not noticed as much, but sound is definitely an influencing factor that affects our perception of space. A CD titled "music and architecture: the sound inside" provides a number of musical performances, recorded live in iconic architectural spaces, each space chosen to highlight its associated musical piece's unique aural qualities.

Architecture, at times, has even contributed to the creation of music. The birth of the gregorian chant is credited to the proliferation of space in the gothic cathedral. Cathedrals were the acoustic twins of large natural caverns. Blesser and Salter (authors of "spaces speak, are you listening?") have noted that the volumes of some caverns in the Czech Republic approach 50,000 cubic meters, which are comparable to the volume of a cathedral. Both are large enclosed spaces with irregular geometries, randomly shaped surfaces, minimal acoustic absorption, and uniform diffusion of sound arriving from all directions.

It may seems obvious that the creation of such vast acoustical resonance chamber for cathedrals would be intentional to convey a religious / spiritual message or connection. The history of the evolution of sacred spaces in Christianity would prove otherwise. Before Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in BC 313, Christians would congregate, secretly, in abandoned large spaces within their region. These spaces were typically Greek basilicas, that had once served as courthouses and commercial meeting places. These spaces were usually rectangular in shape and were defined by two rows of columns. After the Imperial adoption of Christianity, walls were added for protection from the weather and to display political power. This was a major change in the quality of the aural space.

Within the next few centuries, the growth of Christianity prompted the need for larger congregation spaces. These spaces had increasing floor areas and dramatically high ceilings (some would argue that these figural spaces were a symbolic connection to a higher power). The surface materials were usually made of stone, which replaced the use of wood, as a result from advances in building technology, and because stone was resistant to fire. The resulting acoustics was thus unintended. The acoustics were terrible for speech; as the priest spoke to his large congregation, his words, if heard, would blend into one another due to the vast reverberation time (Blesser and Salter note it to approach 10 seconds for middle frequencies). However, such spaces can be used to create sounds that pleases the ear. If one was to speak in long tones (sing slowly), the blending between one tone and the other could sound harmonious, and thus the communication here becomes a musically tonated one, and not the spoken word. This segues into the birth to the Gregorian chant.

The interesting thing about reverb, is that the ears detect a slight harmonizing tone alongside the original one thats being voiced. The tonal difference between the original tone and the harmonic one is a perfect fifth (more on that when musical scales musical scales and harmony would be discussed), creating a common chord that is used throughout western music, and which pop/rock music refers to as the "power chord". This slight harmony was picked up by the chanting monks, and exploited even furthur in their chanting. The choir could be divided, each group singing a different harmony line, and these tones would just blend into one another, creating beautiful musical chords. Ofcourse, each space has its own reverberation time, so the choirs belonging to each church would compose their music accordingly.

In Experiencing Architecture, Steen Eiler Rasmussen talks about two other composers who have used spaces as a generator of their musical compositions. The Byzantine church of S. Mark's in Venice was Giovanni Gabrielli's instrument. The church is built over a Greek cross plan and has five domes, one in the center, and each of the four arms of the cross. S.Mark's had two music gallerires, one to the right and the other to the left, as far away as possible with their domes acting as mighty resonators. Gabrielli made use of this, by letting the music come from both sides, one answering the other, in his Sonata Pian e Forte. The congregation did not hear two different orchestras, but heard two musical rooms, each responding to one another in counterpoint, or as Rasmussen puts it "one speaking with silver tones, the other responding in resounding brass." The congregation was placed underneath the central dome, which served as another instrument, or blending spaces that connects the music coming from the left and right.

The St. Thomas church at Leipzig was Bach's instrument. This church was not known for its vast reverberation time. After the Reformation, large areas of resonant wood were added to the naked stone, the side walls were lined with tiers of wodden galleries, and curtains were added at openings of the new added private boxes. All elements that resorb sound and not reflect it. Playing the soft slow blending tones of the gregorian chant would seem boring and less enchanting, as such tones would not sustain or resonate in space for very long. Hope Bagnel, the famed acoustician and author of "Planning for Good Acoustics", figures the reverberation time of the church to be 2.5 seconds, as opposed to 6-8 seconds in standard medieval churches. Bach had to find different ways to how his composition would be as enchanting and awe inspiring. The resultant musical compositions gave birth to the Cantata and Passion. Bach's famed inventions were thus much more musically complex, with alot of use of counterpoint, where two very distinct musical lines, played in relatively fast speed, could be listened to simultaneously, without the notes blending into one another to form a cacophonic mess.

Synethesia factor week 4

Music of the week: Let go (Frou Frou)

Movie of the week: Garden State

Literature of the week: The Man Who Tasted Shapes (Richard E. Cytowie), The Soundscape (R. Murray Schafer)

Color of the week: Aqua

Taste in mouth of the week: cream cheese

Smell of the week: rainwater

Touch of the week: water

Synethesia factor of the week: I hear lots of bouncing balls (boooooings) as I take my shower in the morning

Moud of the week: blah

Inspirational quote of the week:

"Everybody wants to to be somebody; nobody wants to grow"

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Music as Intellect, Music as Expression: Initial Thesis Ideas

Throughout history, music has been looked upon as either an intellectual body or an expression of emotion. These two different approaches can be traced back to Greek mythology. In a Homeric hymn to Hermes, the "lyre" is said to have been invented when Hermes proclaimed that the shell of the body can produce sound if its body was used as a resonator. This myth embarks on a discovery of sonic properties in the materials of the universe. The lyre becomes the instrument of Apollo, and music is conceived as external sound that God sent us to remind us of the harmony of the universe. Such music is serene, mathematically derived, associated with transcendental views of Utopia and the Harmony of the Spheres. This train of thought is evident in Pythagoras's teachings and renaissance ideas, where music is a subject of the intellect belonging to the seven liberal arts (it belongs in the Quadrivium section, along with arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, while the expression, Trivium, includes the arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic). Schoenberg's music in the early 20th century (12 tone method of composition) is a good example of such thought in music. The methods of expression are number theories, seeking to harmonize with the world through acoustic design.

On the other hand, Pindar's twelfth Pythian Ode tells the story of the beheading of Medusa, leading to the creation of the aulos. Athena, Goddess of strategic warfare and heroic endeavor, was touched by the cries of Medusa's sisters over her slaying, so she created a special nomos in their honor. In this myth, music arise as subjective emotion. The aulos (reed oboe) is an instrument of exaltation and tradegy, and the instrument of Dionysian festivals. Such music is conceived as internal sound breaking through the human heart. The music produced is subjective and somewhat irrational (comapred to the Apollonian view). It employs expressive devices such as tempo changes, dynamic progressions, and tonal colorings. It is the music of opera, of Bach's passions, of Beethoven's symphonies, of Tchaikovsky's ballets. It is the music of the romantic artist, the kind of music that we associated 18th and 19th century classicism , and the kind of music that we would be trained in today.

Music, in general, is found to incorporate both views. The Apollonian thought can be viewed as a left brained mode of thinking, as it deals with issues in music theory like scales, rhythmic value, and acoustical design, or in other words, the objective scientific aspects of music theory. The Dionysian thought can be viewed as a right brained mode of thinking, dealing with how these scales, rhythms and acoustics properties can be used, altered, and manipulated to create expressions of emotions.

Architecture theoreticians have talked about the intersection between music and architecture in both views. There are five different ways that I have found that discuss such intersections. I will list all five now, and will come back and discuss more about each one in coming blog posts:

1) Architecture as a Musical Instrument

2) Architecture as a Stimulus for Movement

3) Architecture as a Sequence of Harmonic Spaces

4) Music as an Inspiration for Architecture (irrational expression)

5) Music as an Inspiration for Architecture (rational expression)

The first three belong to the Apollonian view, as architecture deals with acoustics, rhythmic values, and harmonic proportions. The last two belong to the Dionysian view, where architecture and music could be linked through Synesthesia, or, music can be deconstructed rationally, and then reconstructed to express certain elements within architecture. These titles are tentative and are subject to change within the coming weeks. By next week, I hope to bring more information about each type and how different architects have used these ideas in their designs.

Committee Members update

I am glad to welcome two new committee members:

William Bechhoefer, FAIA, Professor Emeritus

Dr. Eliot Bates, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology 

Dr Bates website: www.eliotbates.com

Synethesia factor week 3

Music of the week: Wearing the inside out (Pink Floyd)  - Rip Richard Wright

Movie of the week: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Literature of the week: Music in Egypt: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture (Scott L. Marcus)

Color of the week: Maroon

Taste in mouth of the week: Lemon herb chicken

Smell of the week: Cucumber dove soap

Touch of the week: soap

Mood of the week: happy

Inspirational quote of the week:

"Exert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don't think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire."

- Samuel Johnson

The Rosslyn Motet: Ciphered Music in the Rosslyn Chapel

The Collegiate Church of St Matthew, aka the Rosslyn Chapel, was founded as a Roman Catholic collegiate church at the village of Roslin (Scotland) in the mid-15th century. The Chapel is a major feature in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", and is rumored to house the holy grail.

The interior of the Chapel is filled with intricate carvings. Among those are a sequence of 213 cubes protruding from pillars and arches with a selection of patterns on them. The nature and meaning of these patterns have long been a mystery, until recently. Thomas and Stuart Mitchell have interpreted the patterns as a musical score, where the patterns is viewed as those seen in the study in cymatics.

Thomas and Stuart Mitchell placed powder upon a flat surface, vibrating at different frequencies, to recreate the patterns found on the so called "musical boxes". These Chladni Patterns were then matched to their corresponding musical frequencies, to write a musical tune that the team calls the "Rosslyn Motet".

Notice the pitch of the oscillator, hum the pitch to yourself and keep humming until u hear the first note of the choir. You will notice that they are one and the same.

Thesis committee members

As of today, the official members of this thesis's committee are:

Peter Noonan, AIA, LEED AP, Professor of the Practice

Dr. Robert L. Vann, Ph.D., Professor

Brian P. Kelly, AIA, Director, Architecture Program

I look forward working with these distinguished faculty members of the University of Maryland, and look forward to a great year.

Synethesia factor week 2

Music of the week: the oscar goes to... (gotthard)
Movie of the week: the shawshank redemption
Color of the week: orange

Taste in mouth of the week: buffalo chicken strips

Smell of the week: lavender

Touch of the week: soap

Mood of the week: collected

Inspirational quote of the week:

"We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us."

-Jean-Paul Sartre

Architecture as an Instrument for Music : Le Cylindre Sonore

"Sound is no longer exclusively the instrument of musical expression, designed with precision, it becomes a building material in the creation of space." - Bernhard Leitner

Le Cylindre Sonore is a cylindrical space located within Parc de la Villete, that is conceived as a hub or transitional space within the landscape. The space uses sound as the primary element to provide the transition between the north and south sides of the park. It is built up as a double cylinder: The outer wall acting as a retaining wall and acoustical buffer, while the inner wall containing 8 perforated - precast concrete panels. There is enough space between the inner and outer wall to act as an acoustical chamber, with three speakers mounted at different heights, serving as a resonator. The sounds produced encourages visitors to stop, listen, linger, and reflect before continuing their journey through the park.

Reflections: I am curious on how to use wind as the generator of sound, rather than speakers. The intensity and direction of the wind maybe factors that help produce different dynamics or pitches within the sounds produced (sort of like the wind chimes effect, yet a more spatial representation of that). I am also interested to find out whether dealing with sound in architecture helps assist the blind in their awareness of space.

Bernhard Leitner website: http://www.bernhardleitner.at/en/

Synethesia factor week 1

Music of the week: in the presence of enemies pt 2 (dream theater)

Movie of the week: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

Color of the week: orange

Taste in mouth of the week: orange

Smell of the week: orange

Touch of the week: comforter fabric

Mood of the week: enraged

Inspirational quote of the week:
"the reasonable man tries to adapt to the world. The unreasonable man tires to adapt the world to himself...therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
- George Bernard Shaw

architecture: music, city, and culture

Below are the posters that were presented during thesis fair at the architecture school (september 4-5 2008).

sounds of cairo

"We are usually more touched by what we hear than what we see. The sound of rain pelting against leaves, the roll of thunder, the whistling of wind in tall grass, and the anguished cry excite us to a degree that visual imagery can seldom match. Music is for most people a stronger emotional experience than looking at pictures for scenery... Partly, perhaps, because we cannot close our ears as we can our eyes. We feel more Vulnerable to sound. " - Murray Schafer

" (I propose) a method of design based purely on sounds of site. The ultimate goal is that sensitizing the designer to the contextual soundscape culminates in an awareness of all the sensory and supra-sensory perceptual aspects of the site not only as a source of inspiration and tool for design but also as a means of creating spaces that in turn fully engage the perceptual capacities of the user." - Kourosh Mavash

Both Schafer and Mavash have called for soundscaping and sound analysis to be an integral part of the architecture design process. In Mavash's paper SITE + SOUND : SPACE (presented in the Architecture|Music|Acoustics International Cross-Disciplinary Conference; Ryerson Univeristy, Toronto, Canada; 8-10 June, 2006), a number of representational methods are listed to help instigate the design process:

Contextual Sound Piece: a recording of the aural experience of space, letting the aural elements described the space.  

Spatial Sound Instrument: walkthrough instrument to regenerate sounds of the site

Sound Collage: assemblage of aural media (sounds, songs, words, music...etc) to describe elements within the site

Interpretive Sound Piece: free interpretation of site through composed sound pieces

Associative Sound Piece: explorative use of vibrations (inaudible sounds) to describe the site.

The following are contextual sound pieces taken in various locations in Cairo. Unfortunately the quality isn't as pristine as I would have hoped. If my thesis does end up going in this direction, better samples will be gathered during my visit to Cairo this winter. You might want to put on headphones for this one.

In the courtyard of Mohamed Ali Mosque

Underneath the dome of Mohamed Ali Mosque

On el Mu'izz street, infront of al Hakim mosque

On el Mu'izz street, infront of of mosque and sabil-kuttab of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar

On el Mu'izz street, between al-Silahdar complex and Qalaqun complex

Murray Schafer bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Murray_Schafer

music and architecture around the world

I believe that there is a reason why music from certain regions fit seamlessly with its architecture

arch670 project 1 (march 2008)

The following project is a deconstructing movement of the body performing a tap dance (tappin to extreme's "get the funk out"). It was part of Professor Michael Ambrose's ARCH670 course at the university of maryland. The intent of investigation was to deconstruct the rhythmic pattern of the dance, reconstruct it using digital modeling and trying to reinterpret the rhythmic motion of the space using different framing and lighting methods.

Special thanks to world class tap dancer Martiena Schneller.

Michael Ambrose faculty page: http://arch.umd.edu/people/faculty_and_staff/bio.cfm/70

Michael Ambrose website: http://www.arch.umd.edu/Faculty/Ambrose/courses.html

Mahmoud Riad 670 blog : http://riad670umd.blogspot.com

Student 670 blogs: http://www.arch.umd.edu/Faculty/Ambrose/670/student_pages.html

final project for arch678z (may 2008)

The following is a short film that I have composed with Ritsaart Marcelis for Peter Noonan's class "Sensing Architecture: Body and Place". The film explores how music affects our emotional perception of space, using University of Maryland's mall as the referential space.

Peter Noonan's bio : http://arch.umd.edu/people/faculty_and_staff/bio.cfm/89

Peter Noonan's website: http://mcinturffarchitects.com/

and here we go

As of September 5th 2008, I have officially kick started what is known as "thesis year" at the University of Maryland. I am expected to conclude this thesis and graduate in May of 2009. This blog should serve as a journal till then (and afterwards), and hopefully will attract both attention and dialogue from those who are interested. Below is a copy of my abstract that was sent to Graduate school.