Inside the Sound Box- St. Louis
Enrique de Solo
Inside the Sound Box- St. Louis
DT Instructor: Pablo Moyano DT TA:Megan Roy Spring 2012
Introduction_____Sound & Space___new instrument___making music pgs. 10-13
pg. 6 pg. 8 pg. 14
(PART 1)__Making a soundbox____Psychoacoustics/ synaesthetics____Material___ pgs. 18-21
pgs. 22-25
pg. 16
pg. 36 (PART 2)-__The Soundscape___Psychoacoustics___City____ pgs. 37-39
pgs.40-43 pg. 52
(PART 3)___Making Music in S pgs.54-57
______________Form/Precedents
pgs. 26-35
____Nature________User
pgs.44-47
pgs.48-51
St. Louis___Delmar_______Site
pgs.58-65
pgs.66-77
pg. 78 (PART 4)-_Urban soundbox___soundscape_______Program____Main Theater___Soundbox pg.84 pg.86-89 pg.90-93 pg.94-97
pgs.80-83
Sound and space
form a critical couple in our everyday environment: no sound exists outside of space, and no space is ever truly silent. Sound and space mutually reinforce one another in our perception; the qualities of a space affect how we perceive a sound and those of a sound affect how we perceive a space. Space and Sound are inextricably linked in our experience of what it is to exist in the world. -Ripley
A “new� musical instrument
Acoustic Mirrors- acoustic mirrors were built as early warning devices around the coasts of Great Britain, with the aim of detecting airborne invasions. These particular ones still stand in Kent, England
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Can an Architect “make music�?
City sounds
People sounds
Nature sounds
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Part I
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Making a Soundbox
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Making a soundbox The architect can make music, but must first make the instrument
A
Sound Box
is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air.
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Hand-held
Inhabitable
Material
+ Form
= Instrument _17_
Psychoacoustics Timbre
Psychoacoustics Is the scientific study of sound perception. More specifically, it is the branch of science that studies the psychological responses to sound- including speech and music.
Timbre In music, timbre, also known as tone color, is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
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sound color
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Synesthesia sound-color-feeling
Color, like sound can evoke a certain feeling. Such as this painting by Rothko. The combination of the colors orange, yellow and red give the painting a certain feeling of warmth.
Mondrian’s “Boogie Woogie” shows the appearance of colors in movement. Rythm can be not only heard, but seen as well.
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The senses are interconnected. Here we can see how the brain can interpret auditory information visually as well as other sensory combinations _21_
Material
Making a Soundbox
Musical instruments can be made with string, wood, canvas, or brass; each material serving a specific purpose in order to manipulate sound in a certain way.
Timbre/Color wood nylon string steel string brass canvas drum steel drum
low pitch
high pitch
hot
cold
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Material
Making a Soundbox
Buildings too, function this way; transmitting sound that correlates to the materials that make them up.
Timbre/Color wood Fabric/Insulation Stone Aluminum Steel Cables
low pitch
high pitch
hot
cold
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Form
Making a Soundbox Precedents
Each musical instrument is different. The trumpet curves air through its twisted shape creating a timbre unlike any other. The drum is a musical instrument that uses its air cavity in order to vibrate heavy sounds outward. The guitar, with its strings and wooden sound box, vibrate sound from each string into the air cavity and out again to the listener. Each building is also shaped to control and express particular sounds and style of music. Through formal operations we can begin to understand how the shape of a space relates to the type of sound being produced.
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Form
Making a Soundbox Barbican Theatre- Caruso St. John
The concert hall in the Barbican Centre in London is a performance theater designed by Caruso St. John (2000-2001). Unlike the other case study buildings, this is an installation to an existing concrete shell. In order to control sound in the performance theater, acoustic reflectors were installed.
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Form
Making a Soundbox Viipuri Library- Alvar Aalto
The Municipal Library in Vyborg, Russia, is an internationally acclaimed design by Alvar Aalto. The library is particularly famous for its wave-shaped ceiling in the auditorium, the shape of which, Aalto argued, was based on acoustic studies. The shape of the ceiling works best for listening to speeches.
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Form
Making a Soundbox Le Thoronet Abbey
Le Thoronet Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey that was built in the early 1200’s in Southeast France . In this early stage of architectural technology, most structures were built out of one material. In this case it not only served as the enclosure for the Cistercian monks but also as the aural reverberator. Cistercian monks were known to have made a vow of silence, so the art of hearing was an integral aspect of their faith.
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Form
Making a Soundbox Red Rocks Amphitheater
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, where concerts are given in the openair amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a seating area for up to 9,450 people in between. The amphitheatre is owned and operated by the City and County of Denver, Colorado and is located in Red Rocks Park, part of the Denver Mountain Parks system.
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Part II
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The Soundscape
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Psychoacoustics decibels and frequency
Sound can be captured and manipulated in order to cater to the listener’s needs. City sounds can be manipulated and formed into “background music”.
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frequency
Loudness can be understood through many examples in daily life. Humans can percieve sound as low as a whisper and as high as an airplane on the runway. Depending on what the sound is of course, humans have a distinct preference to decibel level.
higher pitch
lower pitch
120 db Airplane
decibels
A sound’s frequency or pitch can be used as a facilitator for meditation. Studies have indicated certain frequencies that promote high levels of focus, rest, or sleep.
20 db leaves rustling
sound waves
loudness and pitch
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City
Sounds of the city
Some sounds of the city can be quite calming if heard from the right distance. It could be the rythmic sounds coming from a highway or the deep sound of a train running on the tracks.
70 db 30 db 20 db
buzzing lights _40_
transit bridge
bus transport
100 db 90 db
20 db
highway
train
open water _41_
City
Soundscape of St. Louis
Pink Noise
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e
voices
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Nature
Sounds from nature
The sounds of nature are often used in areas of meditation for their calming effect. For some, its the wind that blows through the leaves of a tree and for others it might be the deep sound of water falling from a cliff.
90 db
30 db
light rain _44_
30 db
bird chirp
water-large body
70 db 30 db 20 db
sawgrass
wind-trees
still water _45_
Nature
Soundscape of Nature (St. Louis)
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User
Soundbox of people sounds
Without realizing it, people make up a soundscape too. The rythmic tones of people walking or the loud hum of a talking audience can alter the experience of a space.
50 db
30 db 20 db
running _48_
biking
conversation
90 db 80 db
20 db
singing
walking
crowd _49_
User
Soundscape of people
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Part III
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Making music in St. Louis
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Making Music
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...there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require. -Edward Elgar (composer)
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Music
St. Louis- at the crossroads of America
St. Louis is located in the center of the country. The city has become a melting pot of different musical styles, embracing all of them. Known as one of the birthplaces of the blues and ragtime, St. Louis has still kept its musical heritage and is a musical haven for musicians across the country. “When the earliest forms of the blues migrated north from their birthplace in Mississippi Delta, they melded with the ragtime strains popular in St. Louis at the time and the result is what’s known as the St. Louis blues.” - explore St. Louis
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Motown from Detroit
Hip Hop from New York
St. Louis Country from Tennessee
Blues from New Orleans
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The Muny
The Pageant
Vintage Vinyl
Blueberry Hill
WashU School of Music
Music
St. Louis- music venues/ music districts
Delmar loop- What makes Delmar different from other “music” districts is that its also a “shopping” district. The loop consists of 6 blocks of retail, restaurants, live music venues, and outdoor public spaces. Throughout the week, Delmar loop remains active, consistently taking in visitors of all ages.
Arch Grounds The landing
Beale on Broadway
Peabody Opera House
Firebird
Powell Hall
Fox Theatre
Sheldon Concert Hall
For this reason, musicians from all over St. Louis come here to perform along Delmar boulevard. Throughout the week, it becomes a very active public space where street performers and visitors make up the soundscape of delmar.
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Delmar Loop music venues
6 - Music Venues 2- Public Music Venues
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Cicero’s
Market Pub
Vintage Vinyl
Blueberry Hill Chuck Berry Statue
WashU School of Music
The Pageant
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Delmar Loop public attractors
Tivoli Theater
30- Restaurants 35- Retail stores 6- Bars 1- Theater 1- Hotel 1-Gym * Metro Station Bar/Restaurants Retail
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Pin-up Bowl
Moonrise Hotel
Delmar Transfer Station
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Delmar East Edge of the loop
The Loop spans from Kingsland to Des Peres. Not much life extends past Des Peres due to the conditions of the neighborhood. The social status of the residents also changes resulting in a more barren urban fabric devoid of culture, art, and social activity.
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Proposed Site
The Delmar Loop
The edge of the loop (little to no activity)
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Delmar East Extending the loop M
465’
Site
80,000 sq ft
AY W IL
Park
RA
76,000 sq ft
276’
Site
RES
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long section
metro link
site
DELMAR AVE COMMERCIAL
Lucier Park
SIDENTIAL
e location
SCHOOL
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park
M
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cross section
delmar blvd.
site location
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metro link
Park edge Site
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Residential edge Site
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Street edge Site
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Delmar East Edge of the loop
Most activity ocurring east of Des Peres Avenue is the Metro link transfer station. Currently, the bus stop is used primarily for job commuting. This transit stop is rarely used to transport visitors to the Delmar loop. The Metrolink transfer station is a great opportunity to attract a heavy flow of visitors to the area if the appropriate attractor is put in place.
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What can serve as the catalyst for the expansion of Delmar East?
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Part IV
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Urban Soundbox
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Urban Soundbox
The performer & The user (visitor)
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The Urban Soundbox combines the actions of the user with the performance of the artist_ the city soundscape serves as the backdrop.
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Urban Soundbox amplifier for Delmar East extract sound from site
City sounds
mix as “background music�
Nature sounds
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People sounds
insert street performers
insert public attractors
restaurant/bars
amplify performance
retail
urban soundbox
music library
radio station
theater/amphitheater
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Site Soundscape traffic chunk
nature sounds along tracks
moving train
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residentia
al sound park sounds
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Urban Soundbox how to treat the edge
plaza/acoustic mirror
Sound buffer
metro link train
MAIN THEATER amphitheater/acoustic mirror
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Delmar avenue
M
metrolink transfer station
street performer sounbox/plaza music library/ recording studios
Retail/ Restaurant/Bar
Delmar edge
80-90 db
Park edge
20-70 db
Residential edge
40-70 db
Railway edge
30-90 db
Radio Station
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Program Urban Soundbox
Main Theater
25, 000 sq ft
Retail/Restaurants/Cafe -Retail -Bars/Restaurant
10, 000 sq ft
Music Library -Listening boxes -Recording studios
20, 000 sq ft
Radio Station
5, 000 sq ft
Public
30, 000 sq ft
-Amphitheater -Plaza/ Street Performer Space
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total sq ft.
90, 000 sq ft
STREET PERFO RMER BOX 1 RETAIL/RESTA URANT
STREET PERFO RMER BOX 2 CAFE
STREET PERFO RMER BOX 3
PLAZA/ACOU STIC MIRROR MUSIC LIBRA
RY/RECORDIN
G STUDIOS
RADIO STATIO
N
MAIN THEATER
/AMPHITHEAT
ER
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Main Theater Urban Soundbox
The main stage will be a flexible performance space. The connection between the theater and the landscape can be made direct or indirect. On ordinary days, the amphitheater can be used as a plaza where one could listen to nature’s soundscape
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THEATER
AMPHITHEATER
The theater will feature an adaptable stage that could engage an outdoor audience as well as the audience in the interior. Sounds from the exterior and sounds from the performance will blend into one aural performance
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Wyly Theater Rex/OMA
The main stage in this project was specifically designed to be a flexible performance venue that can open up to the environment. This felxibility allows for the artist to have a free range of expression through the use of the venue.
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free-stage: stage is free of seats. the stage is almost as large as the building’s footprint.
proscenium: the audience is set to the west side and the east side of the theater is set for the stage.
thrust: stage is in the center of the audience. (like an amphitheater)
The wyly theater feautures a free-flowing stage that has the ability to open up to the exterior.
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Street Performer soundbox Urban Soundbox
concave acoustic mirror- reverberates the sound of the street performer
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sound filter- filters sound from adjacent soundscape...such as the nature soundscape
Street performers don’t all use the same instrument. A rapper will not want the same venue space as a guitarist. Materials help define specific instruments through tone and volume. By using different matierials for each acoustic mirror, it can enhance the performance.
outdoor eating is just one example of an attractor that can unite the street performer with the city dweller.
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Swiss Sound Box Peter Zumthor
Peter Zumthor, architect and Daniel Ott, a musical composer joined forces during the Hanover exposition to create the Swiss sound box; a pavilion that combines music with architecture.
The use of wood made it possible for musicians to share the same tempo and collaborate in a new wave of freestyle music.
Swiss Sound Box by Peter Zumthor
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The musicians that interacted with the space followed this proportion and created improvisational music based on the rhythmic system. “The speculative –mathematical moment of joint sound-space proportions is doubtless present- and yet, at the same time, Ott’s concept is open to the moment, and open to the individuality of the musicians, and open to the idiom that resonates through them.”
composition by Daniel Ott The Swiss sound box is created through a sequential process. “For example, the timeline based dimension (153 exhibition days: 153 sounds; 23 exhibition weeks: 23 eruptions); or architectural numbers: twelve stacks, three courts, the number of beam layers within a stack (4,5,6,8,10,or 11), proportions of the floor plan, etc.” This means that the outer shell is mimicking the proportions created by the musical composition composed by Daniel Ott.
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Music allows the individual to experience deep and intense emotions. Sound is a 'unifying' sense —creating an immediacy of effect. -Dr. Hugo Heyrman
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Bibliography “Barbican Concert Hall (London, UK) « Caruso St John Architects.” Caruso St John Architects. Web. 17 Dec. 2011. <http://www.carusostjohn. com/projects/barbican-concert-hall/>. Deon, Luca, and Michael Goodward. Caruso St John: Knitting, Weaving, Wrapping, Pressing ; [Katalog Zur Ausstellung: Adam Caruso & Peter St John “knitting Weaving Wrapping Pressing” (stricken Weben Einhüllen Prägen), Architekturgalerie Luzern, 13.10. - 17.11.2002]. Basel U.a.: Birkhäuser, 2002. Print. Grantham, Andrew. “Sound Mirrors.” Sound Mirrors. Web. <http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/soundmirrors/>. Grueneisen, Peter. Soundspace: Architecture for Sound and Vision. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2003. Print. Heyrman, Dr. Hugo. “”Art and Synesthesia: In Search of the Synesthetic Experience” by Dr. Hugo Heyrman.” “Art and Synesthesia: In Search of the Synesthetic Experience” by Dr. Hugo Heyrman. Universidad De Almeria, 25 July 2005. Web. <http://www.doctorhugo.org/synaesthesia/art/ index.html>. Hintsanen, Paivi. “The Building:Viipuri Library.” Alvar Aalto.Viipuri Library.Viipurin Kirjasto. Alvar Aalto Foundation. Web. <http://www.alvaraalto.fi/viipuri/building.htm>. Leeds, Joshua. “Psychoacoustics.” The Power of Sound. Sound- Remedies. Joshua Leeds, 2001. Web. <http://www.sound-remedies.com/psyc. html>. _100_
Quiros, Luis. “Achieving the Metaphysics of Architecture.” Quirpa. Web. 17 Dec. 2011. <http://www.quirpa.com/docs/achieving_the_metaphysics_of_architecture__peter_zumthor.html>. “Red Rocks History & Geology.” Red Rocks History & Geology. Red Rocks Park. Web. <http://www.redrocksonline.com/ABOUTUS/HistoryGeology.aspx>. Ripley, Colin, Marco Polo, and Arthur Wrigglesworth. In the Place of Sound: Architecture, Music, Acoustics. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2007. Print. Saieh, Nico. “Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre / REX | OMA.” Weblog post. ArchDaily. 13 July 2011. Web. <http://www.archdaily.com/37736/deeand-charles-wyly-theatre-rex-oma/>. “Standing At The Crossroads: St. Louis Music History.” Explore St. Louis. 16 Aug. 2010. Web. <http://explorestlouis.com/media-page/newsreleases-newsroom/releases/at-the-crossroads-st-louis-music-history/>.
“Visit The Loop.” Visit The Loop. Delmar Loop. Web. <http://visittheloop.com/>.
Zumthor, Peter, and Plinio Bachmann. Swiss Sound Box: a Handbook for the Pavilion of the Swiss Confederation at Expo 2000 in Hanover. Basel [Switzerland: Birkäuser, 2000. Print. _101_
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