The Acoustic Baths An Atmospheric Operetta Julia Dallas M. Arch Thesis Proposition
The Acoustic Baths The thesis seeks to explore the land as an inhabitable instrument, a device capable of activating the stories of a place and time through the amplification of sound. The framework for the project, driven by a curiosity and desire for experience, articulates a complex relationship between sound, space, perception, and the body. The aspiration and intention of the work is to hear the atmospheres and spirit of a place with the body. Sound is observed as a carrier of aesthetic purpose in conjunction with a theoretical effect of kinetic and potential action. The manifestation of sound into physical force produces an array of possible spatial volumes composed across a landscape — a sonic territory which articulates the change in light, the change in sound, the change in physical movement unfolded as a series of aggregated phenomenon. The research, observations, and design gestures are marks of the mind and hand serving as a composer of space, a musician of land, and an architect of atmospheric forces. The thesis proposition ignites the potential of sound as a means of reflecting stories on space, enhancing the corporal experience of space, and, ultimately, bringing space to life. The amplification of sonically potent space will produce a new sense of location and manner of thinking — it will become a different place, a territory of seemingly extraordinary auras, that were always in the air, like silence. Julia Dallas Master of Architecture Candidate University of Michigan | Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning Thesis seminar conducted under the guidance of Professor Kathy Velikov. Kathy Velikov AIA, OAA Associate Professor of Architecture University of Michigan | Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning
Sketch from Sound Block One from “Music of Mountains” Walter Mays_1967 3
Curiosities How does an atmosphere, composed of both ephemeral and enduring forces, influence the perception and interpretation of sound, and how does the amplification of sounds alter the attitude of a place? How are auditory narratives designed, specifically for amplifying memories of the past in conjunction with conditions of a present territory? Can sound tell time? What kind of spatiality may be generated by instinctively integrating the auditive with the built? What potential for experience and negotiation reside within the manifestation of sound|space? How does one draw sound|space? What new readings of archaeological sites and histories can be presented through the medium of sound?
5
Recontextualizing Sound Space and sound are undeniably linked to our understanding and interaction with everyday environments. There are no sounds that exist independent of a body, a form, a space, just as there is no body, form, or space that achieves a state of perfect silence. Colin Ripley affirms the concept of spatial-acoustic intimacy in his work, In the Place of Sound, of which he articulates that “sound and space mutually reinforce one another in our perception; qualities of a space affect how we perceive sound and those of a sound affect how we perceive a space.” 1 Listening as a conscience practice leads us to greater understanding of location and our perceptual interactions within everyday spatial narratives. ` Sound brings into focus a deep relationship amongst person and location — it orchestrates a condition in which the body is an integral player to the memory of a place. As vessels of circulating fluids and elements, human beings do not exist as passive receptors of either sound or space; rather, we relish in the reality that we are active creators of both. The relationships between site and sound, sound and person are twofold — they exist simultaneously, sometimes working in harmony while other times playing in tension.
1
Ripley, Colin, Marco Polo, and Arthur Wrigglesworth. “Introduction.” In the Place of Sound: Architecture, Music, Acoustics. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2007. 2. Print.
Sonic Distribution Diagrams “Polytope de Cluny” Iannis Xenakis_1972 7
The Spatial Relevance of Sound, The Sonic Relevance of Space I recall three specific moments and places during a thesis class initiated exploration to Greece.* These moments are charged with thick memories of territorial alterations, cultural sparks, and empires past — the unraveling of time between human and non-human forces. The sites at play are that of the Acropolis, Bernard Tschumi’s new Acropolis Museum, and the coastal cliffs below the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. The sound sampling that occurred at each of these respective sites was done so without any preconceived acoustical visions of intent — the objective was simply to learn from the soundscapes occurring on that specific day at that specific time. Sounds of which seemed distant or forever fleeting upon early interaction, soon came to take center stage upon the readjustment of the ears as taking precedent over the eyes. *The thesis, guided by the expertise and practice of Professor Kathy Velikov, specifically investigates Notion, an active archaeological site situated along the Aegean coast of Turkey. As a collective thesis unit, students have been asked to formalize questions of temporality in architecture and landscape. Proposed in the course syllabus, Velikov encourages her students to question, “As designers, how do we construct temporal imaginaries and experiential narratives? How do we parse the complex and conflicted relationships between humans, technology, and nature? How do we specifically address sites with deep cultural histories, and operate within the elasticity of both pasts and futures?” Notion has served as a shared testing ground for such ephemeral and yet deeply rooted questions and explorations.
A Study of Sonic Territory Sketch: “Lullaby Athens” Julia Dallas_2016 9
A
Sound | Space A. The Acropolis
The soft murmur of the city in the background || The crunch and slide of feet as hundreds glide amongst ancient paving stones || The muffling of sharp, clicking shutters against the warm, bright winds || A screech of awe and long, thick exhaust of arrival
B. The Acropolis Museum
A place of unconfirmed, agreeable silence || The amplification of curiosity and inner wonder || The moaning of imperfect treasures pinned behind glass || A whisper of warning
C. The Temple of Poseidon
A soft pulse of water against the shoreline, shivering at the anticipation of a thunderous crash || The steadiness of deep, bass ground tested by the snapping, soprano winds || A wet swell of tension and release || Rumble. Rustle. Rest
11
B
C
Ears > Eyes The fundamentals of acoustics determine the proportions of space in correspondence to a desired resonance. By simply carving a void, the distance between the two resulting walls prescribes a specific frequency — a sonic relationship that has been investigated and implemented into architectural design since Vitruvius. 2 Musical harmonics, organized proportionally to the subdivision of a set distance, generate spaces embedded with a multitude of voices — a space with the ability to be played according to the laws of kinetic and potential energy. The dynamics of such a mathematical relationship have been frequently observed through the works of Palladio and many of his Renaissance predecessors; however, most scenarios have done so with the image of harmonics at play as opposed to the acoustical quality. Just as the image of sonic harmonics generate pleasant relationships amongst spaces as a series of planes and voids visually composed, the same components at play generate interesting relationships when considered acoustically. Auditory senses enhance a surrounding through perceptual mass. Though typically annotated (both scientifically and musically) as a linear segment, sound more accurately contains a spatial volume and weight to its presence. The ears engage a holistic observation of space which occurs “in the round” (like that of sculpture), sensing all directions and dimensions simultaneously. As opposed to vision, whose spatial narrative is reliant upon a series of sequenced frontal views, sound occurs all around, all at once. Juhani Pallasmaa offers the recollection of a seemingly banal rainy night, in which “the sound of dripping water in the darkness of a ruin can attest to the extraordinary capacity of the ear to carve a volume into the void of darkness.”3 Sound has the power to fill — to fill a body, a room, a territory.
2
3
Ripley, Colin, Marco Polo, and Arthur Wrigglesworth. “Introduction.” In the Place of Sound: Architecture, Music, Acoustics. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2007. 15. Print. Juhani, Pallasmaa. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Chichester: Wiley, 2014. 50. Print.
Music Universalis from “De Musica Mundana” Robert Fludd_1618 15
In a world that is increasingly populated by images, it requires a significant and deliberate amount of effort to pause for a moment and intently listen to the sounds of a place. Consider for a moment the gesture of closing one’s eyes in order to amplify and focus solely on the presence of an acoustic territory — the sacrifice of the most dominant sensory experience in order to truly engage an alternative gesture. The growing insensitivity towards hearing is quite ironic, as Marshall McLuhan articulates, considering we can voluntarily close our eyes, and yet, evolution has not equipped us with earlids.4 The thesis proposes moments that ignite the sense of hearing — doing so not just through the ears, but through the collaboration of the whole body. 4
Artford, Scott, and Randy Yau. “Filling the Void.” Site of Sound #2: Of Architecture and the Ear. Ed. Brandon Labelle and Claudia Martinho. Berlin: Errant Bodies, 2011. 205. Print.
Sound Columns from “Sound Spaces” Bernhard Leitner_1999 17
Space as Instrument The quality and generative aspects of a sound are as dependent upon the geometry of a space as its materiality. Tone, pitch, and echo, for example, are all directly linked to the finished treatment of a space. Hard surfaces composed of stone and ceramics offer characteristics of bright, reflective tones. Soft surfaces tend to incorporate more porous materials, such as wood or fabric, which absorb more of the sound waves. A study was conducted analyzing the sectional qualities of various traditional wind instruments: a French horn, saxophone, and bagpipe. Each of the respective instruments owe their unique aural personality and mechanical production of sound to the culmination of form and materiality. Bell shaped, brass, curved, pumped, lacquered wood, valves — the relationship between the spatial manipulation of tubing, along with the various materials integrated through craft, are directly proportional. Since space in of itself is comprised of similar notions of carved solids and materiality, it is plausible to situate a place in which space were an instrument unto itself. Resonant frequencies, standing waves, reflections and other sonic phenomena vary drastically dependent upon the spatial organization, ratio of solid to void, overall dimensions, and materiality designed into space. Though such parameters scientifically dictate the quality of the sounds at play, the primary focus of the thesis is empirical in practice. The design objective is to create a sensual experience - a composition of instrumental bodies concurrently merging and protruding from a landscape.
Instrumental Sections Series 1: Wind, “Bagpipes� Julia Dallas_2017 19
A
C
Sound in Section A. Tubes + Holes:
swells of the ocean || high pitched, focused air
B. Funnel + Curve
soft, airy pulse || winds whipping through a tunnel
B
D
C. Joints + Channels:
low pitched static || steady hum
D. Keys + Bells
darker undertow || silence || lack of acoustic alteration or amplification
23
The Science of Sound Sound is a product of vibration. When molecules of a given medium undergo a disturbance or variation in pressure (aggregated moments of compression or rarefaction) a transfer of energy emanates in the form of sound waves. Sound is propagated by means of longitudinal waves dispersing from the original source upon impact. The amplitude of sound, or volume, is related to the change in atmospheric pressure about a mean state. As molecules are distributed in a horizontal direction about the mean, the greater the amplitude the louder the sound is received.5 The frequency of a sound wave refers to the pitch, or rate of vibration upon which a sound wave passes through the medium (air, water, etc.) at play. The quotient of recorded oscillations determines the number of Hertz (Hz), which are measured in cycles per second. High frequency (e.g., 880 Hz) is rendered as high pitched while low frequency (e.g., 55 Hz) is acknowledged as low pitched. The range of frequency, duration, and amplitude identify the concept of tones and notes in a musical setting. Sound obtains a variety of personalities — at times passive in origins, while other times intensely physical. The birth of sound is a product of kinetic and potential forces in conjunction with the body’s willingness to receive such messages. Sound infuses itself into the extraordinary, everyday interactions with space. Whether it be engaging in a dialogue over coffee, listening for the buzz of traffic as you approach a crosswalk, or seeking the heaviness of silence as you wait for sleep — the ways in which these unseen vibrations activate the body challenges the design of different spaces. Sound exists as a force to be produced, received, and observed through its absence; therefore, it is through the intentional design of spatial relationships that these forces will be voiced.
5
Grueneisen, Peter. “Basic Physics.” Soundspace: Architecture for Sound and Vision. Basel: Birkhauser, 2003. 46-65. Print.
Basic Physics of Acoustics from “Soundspace: Architecture for Sound and VIsion” Peter Grueneisen_2003 27
A
Classification of Sound A. Produce
Sound exists as a form of energy to be vocalized upon collision. Such an impact is generated by both deliberate physical manipulation and non prescribed atmospheric force. The production of sound constitutes as an active engagement of body and territory — it beacons the creation of movement animated throughout space that is pushed, pulled, tapped, strummed, dampened, or projected. Sound-making manifests itself as energized play between forces, both potential and kinetic in nature, of which encourage a body, a space, a landscape, to hear with its entire atomic composition. The production of sonic forces aspires to feel sound — to feel its power to configure a human body, to inform and generate space, and to voice the nestled stories of a landscape.
Instruments of Production “The Chart of Musical Instruemnts” Pop Chart Lab_2014 29
B
C
B. Receive
The reception of sound constitutes a willingness of the mind and body to make itself vulnerable to the unknown and unexpected. As the lights in a theater begin to dim, instruments are raised to the mouths and chest of players, and a slender baton is held in suspension over a recipe of sound in the making — there is no telling as to what caliber of speed, pitch, and intensity of sound is to emerge upon impact. It is a wonderfully suspicious journey that holds the power to cause both pleasure and pain to the senses; yet, our body withholds the right to decide for itself which we chose to endure. Our ears are not designed with lids to cover their worldly apparatus upon request. In order for one to freely choose to block unpleasant sound or hone in on a specific subtle nuance, it requires a true “mind over matter” engagement.
C. Absence
Although silence is considered a lack of sound, a source of an imperceptible nature; on the contrary, it is precisely the indeterminate absence that gives power to its presence. There are moments of undesirable silence causing uncertainty and doubt, moments of celebrated silence fostering clarity and discovery, and moments of rest. The various faces of silence teach us that it is a bi-polar phenomenon wafting between the anxiety of tension and serenity of release.
Instruments of Reception “WWI: War Tubas” US National Archives_1930
Instruments of Silence “The Cone of Silence” Get Smart_1965 31
Sensual Spatial Organization: Lessons from the Bath Bathhouses are historically organized complexes engaging in a rich dialogue between physical, spiritual, and cultural cleansing. The bath typology offers unique moments of collision between ground and voided space — anchoring themselves amongst land, emerging as spatial constellations of sensual engagement. The territory is comprised of individual moments of corporal exploration strung together by a series of pathways and thresholds delineating sensual spatial transitions. As a cluster of thresholds, paths, and spatial voids — the baths offer a strikingly exemplary map in regards to a strategy towards composing spaces of a sensual nature. The baths engage a series of cultural rituals — localized motives that drive the richness of such historic complexes. Bathhouses, or thermae, of the Roman Empire organized the sensual experience along an axis: a common line of expression swelling from moments of aquatic breath to intimate hallways of transition. The axis readily identified the main point of entry, and further articulated the rational disposition of architectural elements unfolding within.6 The spatial organization fostered individual moments of business exchange, physical and mental exertion, sensual cleansing, and spiritual healing. Bathers would engage in a physical and visual expression of space — floating in a barrel vaulted tepidarium while gathering glimpses of the natatorium, caldarium, and frigidarium beyond. Serving as an exciting juxtaposition to that of the axial Roman ideology, bathhouses of the Middle East, specifically of Turkish nature, emphasized the shapes and properties of the interior spaces. Domed volumes encompassed steamy atmospheres curated to spark isolated, purification of the body — an architecture that fostered a close examination of the self as opposed to a relational assemblage to the whole. The hammam occupied the landscape as a cluster of domed vessels, abutted to create harsh and sudden transitions from one sensual experience to the next. 6 Macdonald, William L., and Bernard M. Boyle. “The Small Baths at Hadrian’s Villa.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 39, no. 1 (1980): 5-27. Page 12
Study of Bathhouse Sensual Relationships Series 2: “Bath Complex Combo 5” Julia Dallas_2017 33
A study was conducted as a means of exploring the spatial organization of various historic bathhouses — independently shaped by cultural, spiritual, corporal, and atmospheric forces. The drawings serve as representations of the relationships derived amongst sensual volume, threshold, and path. Presented in chronological order of development, each individual, localized bath assemble the rich aesthetics of a particular culture’s desire to engage the body through space. The same ideologies serve as precedent towards the sensual mapping of auditory space — discovering a richer sense of place and corporal understanding of atmosphere through the amplification of acoustic rooms. Acknowledging this, the thesis seeks to develop itself as a complex of aggregated sounds — the collision, axial procession, and volumizing of sound to produce an acoustic bathhouse.
Sensual Volumes: Sections of Roman Bath “Thermae de Diocletian” “Thermae de Caracalla” Unknown_305 A.D. Unknown_216 A.D. 35
Stabian Baths: Pompeii, Italy (AD 79) health // community center
The Small Baths of Hadrian’s Villa: Tivoli, Italy (AD 117) health // community center
Dōgo Onsen: Shikoku, Japan (1894) religious // health // social
Gellért Baths: Budapest, Hungary (1912) health // community center // institution // business
Overlay of Bath Complex Studies 1-4A and 1-4B
Variation of Bath Complex Studies: Mediation of Horizontal and Vertical
The Baths of Caracalla: Rome, Italy (AD 216) health // community center // institution // commercial
Cağaloğlu Hammam: Istanbul, Turkey (1741) religious // health // pleasure
Széchenyi Baths: Budapest, Hungary (1913) health // community center // institution // business
Copenhagen Harbor Bath: Copenhagen, Denmark (2003) community center // play
Variation of Bath Complex Studies: Planes of Performance
Variation of Bath Complex Studies: Volumes of Space
“Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.”
John Cage, The Future of Music: Credo. Lecture, Seattle 1937
“Hearing shouldn’t be equated with the sense organ ‘ear,’ since our entire body is exposed to sound waves...I sense with my entire body, with my skin, whether or not I can easily speak in a room. That’s an acoustic subconscious that everyone has.”
Bernhard Leitner, ‘Klangals Bau - material, Eugen Blume in conversation with Bernhard Leitner, Berlin 2008
39
Drawing Sound|Space The fundamentals of music composition are contingent upon two variables: pitch and time. The pitch determines the voices (fluctuating tones of instrumentals) coexisting with time (a steady pulse propelling the piece forward). In a more traditional setting, these two factors are illustrated as linear notes populating a musical staff — a convention enabling the language to be read internationally. John Cage, a musician and theoretician, challenged the conventions of graphic scores in a manner that encouraged the expressive nature of abstract images as musical interpretation. Cage engaged more than the adjectives of music in composition, he added verbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and interjections to the language of sonic notation. 7 The abstraction of musical scores speculates alternative attributes to the annotation of sound — it attempts to visualize the materiality, spatial territory, and sonic mass of sound. Iannis Xenakis is a particularly influential mind to the intentions and explorations of the thesis. Xenakis, a Greek composer, architect, and physicist, designed elemental music of which embodied the physicality and territorial richness lacking in a conventional inscription of sound. It was stated he did not compose at the piano — Xenakis’s tools were mathematics, computer science, and the instrumental forces of nature. Working in a conceptual plane of mass, he sought to combine the breath of mathematics in its two-dimensional form with that of organized sounds. American composer, Sharon Kanach, describes Xenakis’s graphic intent comparatively to that of an architectural plan, “enabling the eye to capture the layout of any surface at a glance.”8 The graphic renderings of Xenakis allows one to perceive the sonic, global form instantaneously. Sound seems to emerge from sketches; yet, sounds neither of note nor scale formation, but rather of cosmic, rhizome, woven noises colliding, stretching, and suspending within space. 7 Kanach, Sharon, Ian Hewett, Carey Lovelace, and Makhi Xenakis. “Iannis Xenakis: Architect, Composer, Visionary.” Issuu. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017. 8 Kanach, Sharon, Ian Hewett, Carey Lovelace, and Makhi Xenakis. “Iannis Xenakis: Architect, Composer, Visionary.” Issuu. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.
Study of Sound|Space Annotation “Sound|Space: An Atmospheric Operetta” Julia Dallas_2017 41
The thesis speculates a condition in which the variables at play are indeterminate time and atmospheric forces. It prompts a problem-solving exploration similar to Cage and Xenakis — a wanting to explore the unknown and unarticulated through sonic notation. Traditional scores are read according to elements of pitch, dynamics, duration, and timbre. The thesis seeks to animate a graphic score for the land, a notational foundation animated from elements of sonic mass, threshold, path, and excavation. A study of various hand rendered, sonic swatches was conducted testing the acoustic, graphic capacities of soundspace. The sonic mapping illustrates explored compositions of space, territory, and atmospheric forces emerging from, rippling across, and colliding against the surface. What evolved is a sonic composition of the land, the territorial memory, the spatial forces — an atmospheric operetta.
Study of Graphic Score “Nomos Alpha Sieves” Iannis Xenakis_1965 43
Study of Sound|Space Annotation “Sound Swatches” Julia Dallas_2017
Study of Sound|Space Annotation “Soundspace: An Atmospheric Operetta” Julia Dallas_2017