Music in Architecture Designing Harmonious Spaces

[Music]

i find rhythm in my day-to-day

activities

there is music in my body

i can feel my rhythmic heartbeat

there’s harmony in nature

there’s melody in emotions and there’s

dynamics in dreams

music is an inseparable part of my life

my music teacher once told me

there’s nothing more effective than

music to connect with god

it’s a direct connection

like music

architecture also plays a big part in my

life i love designing spaces as much as

i love expressing my emotions through

music

as an architect designing spaces is my

passion

i believe space expresses and defines my

emotions and allows me to realize my

dreams in a tangible form

space provides a context for my emotions

together music and space make me feel

alive

so as an architect urban planner and a

vocalist who started singing at the age

of eight

i decided to combine my two passions

i thought why not design spaces that

will enhance the effectiveness of the

function of those pieces

how can i design a space using

attributes of music to get a better feel

and emotional impact out of this piece

for example

could i design a house with a tone in a

way that would make me forget about all

the worries

could i design a spa using tone and

texture to get a greater feeling of

calmness and more relaxation along with

the actual physical treatments

could i design an office space with

rhythm to increase the effectiveness of

the work done in the space

could i design a healthcare facility

with harmony to allow for better and

faster healing

how can i explore the connection between

the human mind music and architecture

as the 18th century writer and poet

johann wolfgang von gutee said

music

is liquid architecture

and architecture

is frozen music

there is structure in music and there’s

rhythm in architecture

similar to the impact of music on the

human mind it influences space as well

[Music]

do you feel any difference in this space

before and after i sang

yes

music creates moods and adds intangible

dimension to the space

a minute of music can create an entirely

different mood in the room

the effect of music in an open space is

much different versus the effect in a

closed space

and the impact of those faces is diverse

on different people

for my architectural college thesis i

conducted a survey to see what impact

music had on individuals in different

spaces

according to my observation the people i

surveyed said that the same music had

different impact on them in different

spaces

in a serene secluded open space voices

in a public open space versus in a

closed soundproof room

there were two reasons for this result

one is the relationship between the

space and the music

and the other

is the relationship between the human

mind

and the space we are in

music has an impact on the human mind as

well as the space where we listen to or

perform the music in

according to my observations i decided

to further pursue my

interest in designing harmonious pieces

music

has a unique quality to appeal to the

feelings and create moods

the basis for my study was to use that

quality of music in exploring designing

harmonious pieces

when music is being played at any place

that space comes to life

the research case studies and

interviews i did for my thesis

led me to come up with two basic

concepts that i used as a basis for

designing harmonious spaces

one music that can be seen in

architecture

like rhythmic arrangement of

architectural elements

these are both high-rise buildings the

green building at mit is a composition

of repetitive rhythm

while this building in battery park new

york city is a composition of harmony

tone and texture with its setbacks and

materials this building in san francisco

is a composition of three different

beats with three different window

patterns at the three levels

while this hallway in a building at

princeton university is a melody with an

arrangement of consecutive gothic arches

the second concept is that music that

can be emotionally experienced in spaces

like serenity in a religious space

we can feel music in certain spaces

imagine a space situated in a secluded

area

surrounded by trees and a lake

you enter a semi-open space that leads

to a closed space with solid walls and

indirect ambient natural lighting

there’s a focal point at the center of

the space

with a beam of direct light on it

do you feel music in the arrangement of

the space

now imagine yourself at this plaza in

boston

now feel it

with the music

[Music]

it comes to life

[Music]

now let’s feel a different space at this

resort in sri lanka with the same year

[Music]

the moon created is different than the

[Music]

let’s see another example

this is a step well in india

now feel it with a different kind of

music

[Music]

now let’s see another indoor space with

the same music

[Music]

these spaces get another dimension

combining the two concepts i thought

could i design a space that has musical

attributes to its structure

as well as the feel of music in the

space

one of the important factors in

designing spaces is materials

for example acoustic materials used in

an auditorium or a recording studio

enhance the music play

using creative materials a space can be

enhanced to create echo vibrations and

such effects which will heighten the

feel of music

as well as the dynamics of the activity

performed in the space

another important player in designing

spaces is light

natural light or artificial light

used in an appropriate amount can create

an entirely different mood in the space

and it can create an intended

environment required by the space

light provides dynamics tone and texture

to the space

a room with a pattern of light in it

is much more vibrant than a room with no

windows at all or one big window

landscaping also plays an important role

in designing spaces

especially open and semi-open spaces

the music created by trees and plants as

well as the texture helps set a

particular moon to the space

and complements to the and complements

the activities performed in the space

in each of these harmonies designs for

open spaces

there’s a specific

attribute of music that sets a mood for

the space the space becomes active with

the music created by the plants and the

trees

we can communicate our feelings through

music while architecture is an

expression of feelings in the form of

structures

we can use music to respond to the

context created within the space

many but not all of us

perceive music through our ears while we

perceive space through vision and touch

but what we perceive through different

senses gets analyzed simultaneously

by the brain

so let’s translate this unique ability

of the brain into a unique architectural

character

let’s come let’s design a composition of

spaces

that build nurture heal and protect

lives

thank you