UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY • GRADUATE SCHOOL MASTER'S PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE TITLE: Sound and Architecture PRESENTED BY: Andrew J. Reilly ACCEPTED BY: c .Ob. 'Z()ot; Date Assoc. Professor, Masters Studio Instructor Stephen LaGrassa Date Assoc. Dean, Director School of Architecture APPROVAL: QzkG~~- Date Dean, School ofArchitecture SOUND + ARCHITECTURE ANDREW J. REILLY MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AR 510 IAR 520 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JULIE JU-YOUN KIM 2 MAY 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS I SOUND +ARCHITECTURE PAGE ABSTRACI__~ ________.01 IHESISJ?AeER _ 02 IDEA f?RECEDENTS __ ,. '----- 06 f?ROGRAM .f?RECEDENTS __ L_ 09 TECIONIC_f?RECEDENIS __ SKEICH eROBLEM__ 019 SITE ANAL'{SIS, _ 023 eROGRAMBTATEMENI _ 031 ____SP.ACE_DETAILBUMMARIES _ 033 DESIGN _I _SeRINGBOARD _ _ 043 ____SCHEMATIC_DESIGN _ L_ 057 --__DESIGN_DEVELOf?MENT _ ~ ,--I ~'O 7 3 FJNAL eROJECI _ '--- 090 BIBLIOGRAeHY ----, ~ 0130 ENDNOTES______ _ L--__0131 ABSTRACT I Sound +Architecture 01 "If surgery is all about reparation , then architecture is about experimentation" (Wiel Arets). With Detroit as my playground I see unique opportunities to speculate, experiment, and create. As a city ages, it isseen as a procession of phases, and in these phases it must learn new techniques in order to survive. New buildings and ideas can be inserted into the context of the city; old buildings and ideas can be used and injected with new life and energy. Through a series ofexperiments with new techniques and innovations this thesis will attempt to re-consider the way we perceive sound and the way this experience can be enhanced through the interaction with architecture. How can we heighten our senses toward sound orchange the way we traditionally experience sound and how can this influence and ultimately create an architecture? Abuilding can be experienced beyond the simple look ofits facade. it can become acanvas oran instrument for sound. This investigation will address sound as the tool of innovation , seeking to render a relationship between the human experience and architecture. THESIS PAPER I Sound +Architecture 02 Through a series ofexperimentswith new techniques and innovations this thesis will attempt to re-consider the way we perceive sound and the way this experience can be enhanced through the interaction with architecture . Howcan we heighten our senses towa rd sound orchange the way we traditionally experience sound and how can this influence and ultimately create an architecture? A building can be experienced beyond the simple look ofits facade,it can become a canvas or an instrument forsound . This investigation will address sound as the tool of innovation , seeking to render a relationship between the human experience and arch itecture. Sound is a un ique med ium, which travels through air, water, many building materials and the earth '.Asound is percei ved by our ears, felt by our bodies and understood inour minds. The experience of a particular sound can leave us with a sm ile on ourface, a tear in our eye, ora dance inour fee t. This idea of sound has caused me tospeculate about its mysterious qualities that have the potential tocreatean atmosphere, affect our emotions so easily, and cause an experience to be remembe red forever. The question I began wondering about was if this idea of sound could somehow influence an architectural response . Coulda new way ofconsidering sound be a means ofexperiencing and developing a richness in architecture? Could the human experience be enhanced through the interaction with sound and architecture? What else could be learned in the process? Sounds, simply stated , are vibrating particles that create a small change in the atmospheric pressure and can travel great distances. Tiny vibrating particles are forced ina direction causing them to bump into other particles and that particle into the next and soon. Each particle moves only an infinitesimal distance and th en returns to its original position, this distance traveled is called a cycle. The number ofcomplete cycles each particle moves inone second is the frequency of vibration . The ear can detect sounds over awide range of loudness and frequencies" Architecture creates a setting that becomes the mediumforsound to be heard and remembered. As stated by Architect Steen Eiler Rasmussen , in his book "ExperiencingArchitecture", "The architect is a sort oftheatrical producer, the man who plans the setting forour lives. Innumerable circumstances are dependant on the way he arranges thissetting forus. When his intentions succeed, he islike the perfect host who provides every comfort forhisguests so that living with him isa happy experience'." In this instance sound creates a setting and is seen as the place, the THESIS PAPER I Sound +Architecture 03 architecture isonly a backdrop for this event tooccur. The architect must then manipulate this room to create the perfect sound orthe desired sound for that place so that it can be experienced fully and to its utmost potential by all its participants. Once the architecture has been created , the sound can then be controlled and enclosed orconcealed within a space depending on the design and the intent. The architecture becomes a way ofenhancing this experience through precise moves and material selections. The look ofthe space then becomes very important in the design . From the punctures in the wall to the volume of the space to the connections of materials, no detail should be overlooked and no moment is less important than another. Certain materials have qualities that are considered good for absorbing sound and can be used to keep the sound within a room while others are better for reflecting ordirecting sound throughout a particular space. The room can be designed to magnify orincrease the distance sound travels inside a space. The architecture can focus the sound toa specific point, or amplify the sound toward an area in a room. The sound can be scattered throughout a room creating resonance orreverberation , engulfing the room with sound and energy. The space can be designed tolet the sound flow out ofa particular space and into another orthrough the circulation corridor. Th is occurrence of the sound traveling through the building could be a way of progression within a space orthroughout the whole building. Hearing this sound throughout the spaces could create a sense ofintentional or accidental eavesdropping creating a sense ofconnection between all functions and all those within or around the building . Sound isonly limited by distance orinterruption. This idea offers a wide range of unique design possibilities to be explored throughout the process ofexperimentation . Dutch architect Wiel Arets talks about the idea ofexperimentation in architecture,"If surgery is all about 'reparation ,' then architecture is about 'experimentation'." This is the attitude I adopted as I have continued through the process; toexperiment, looking atnew ways tosee the experience, the materials, the body's interaction within the space, to test and re-test. "Arets buildings are instruments which enable the inside and outside world to be quantified and experienced'." There isa blurring of the two worlds with a seamless precision . In determining a program I looked for certain functions that could both incorporate sound into the architecture and celebrate and allow an interaction with the body through this experience in order to enhance it. Two ofthe main program spaces are sound recording studios and dance studios. The recording studios will be a place tocreate and produce sounds or music. They will address spatial opportunities in creating a unique space for this richness of the act of making sounds. While much is known about the acoustics of recording studios and how this has informed an THESIS PAPER I Sound +Arch itecture 04 arch itectural response, I intend toreconsider those momentsin hopes ofenhancing the space through speculation and experimentation with new ideas and innovations. "Architecture is seen as virological ; it operates invisibly as a catalyst of events"." Th is quote from Wiel Arets, speaks of arch itecture asa background for th e human interaction , my studio spaces will bethought of in the same manner. I intend to create these spaces to still accommodate the sounds and the process of recording, but only to look at new means of this production and design. However, I donot want the arch itecture to be an obviousfeature, but toact asa player in the same realm and as a spark to the fu nction (not the fu nction itselt). In looking for a wayto create a space that celebrates the body through these ideas of sound and architecture, I beganto speculate about the movements of ones body(how the body could be mapped through the sound orthe architecture itself, or how the bodycouldleave its impression on a place) . I then incorporated the idea ofdanci ng into the scheme; this could be looked at as one form ofcelebrating the body. As the body moves, its trail could betraced thus creating a mapping . By taking those mappings and overlaying them with sound , we can begin to see another layerof the mapping which is ampl ified by sounds. Perhaps the ground or the wallscould move with a certain rh ythm created by the music and the body's impact with the floorbelow. Each studio, however, shou ld belooked at as separate entities fromthe recording stud io spaces. They should feel lighter, with much more of a transparent nature, not asa heavy concrete, such as is necessary with the recording studios (at times) . These stud ios will have a sense of a translucency, a type of floating light box, creating a skinof sorts with silhouettes of the dancing bod ies within. The light and shadows of this space become veryimportant in creating almost a natural setting or a stage fora performance to beseen orcreated.