Music & Architecture: Architecture Dissertation

Page 1

MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH

RADHIKA RAVINDRAN A/2444/2012 FOURTH YEAR, SECTION A

GUIDE: RAJIV BHAKAT CO-ORDINATOR: LEON A MORENAS

DISSERTATION ‘15-‘16


ABSTRACT Music and Architecture are two art forms that are composed, with various elements and components, each with a purpose – few physically necessary and few which exist just to create intangible feelings of beauty in the perceivers. We perceive space and sounds in very different ways, with their own individual qualities, characteristics and limitations, but the emotions that they sometimes generate in us can be similar. This brings about the question of inter-translation of one into another based on these phenomenological similarities. To explore this in depth, Phenomenological approach on the perception of music – as intuitively inherent for humans, as something independent of being representational of something else is marked as a reference for similar perception of space and architecture. In depth research into various phenomenology experts like Jean-Paul Sartre, Heidegger and others reveal that there exist many similarities in music and space which are mostly overlooked by the everyday user; these are emotions and experiences like expansiveness, fear, calmness etc. Through primary and secondary case studies done in this field, like the phenomenological comparison of a song and a space or a spatial experience, it is put in a more crystallised form that certain attributes of the former translate, or rather ‘flow’ seamlessly into the other and vice-versa. These qualities, which are either actively or passively perceived and experienced in different depths and intensities, some more lucidly through music and others through space form a framework through which translation can happen from music into architecture through phenomenology. This framework can be used to design a new level of active spatial experience and architecture which is more interactive, experientially accessible and of greater transphenomenal beauty.


DECLARATION

The research work embodied in this dissertation titled ______________________________ has been carried out by the undersigned as part of the undergraduate Dissertation programme in the Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, under the supervision of ______________ (name of guide). The undersigned hereby declares that this is his/her original work and has not been plagiarised in part or full form from any source.

(Signature)

Name: RADHIKA RAVINDRAN Roll No. A/2444/2012 Date: 16th November, 2015.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this undertaking could not have been possible without the participation and assistance of so many people whose names may not all be enumerated. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated and gratefully acknowledged. However, I would like to express my deep appreciation and indebtedness to the following people in particular: Mr. Rajiv Bhakat, for his excellent guidance and immense patience and understanding throughout the duration of this work. Dr. Leon A Morenas, Prof. Jaya Kumar, Dr. Shweta Manchanda and the other faculty members for their support and motivation. To Sashank Macharla, Aparajita Komanduri, Balakumar Ravichandran, Devika Nayal and Sarth Khare for their timely motivation and resourceful ideas and suggestions. To my parents, relatives and all others who have in one way or another shared their support throughout. Above all to the Almighy God.

Thank you.


TABLE OF CONTENTS RESEARCH QUESTION......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................. 3 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 5 2. PHENOMENOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 8 THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH .................................................................................................. 10 HEIDEGGERIAN PHENOMENOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 11 SARTRE – EXISTENTIALISM AND PHENOMENOLOGY .............................................................................. 13 3.PERCEPTION AND PATTERNS ........................................................................................................ 15 AESTHETIC PERCEPTION.......................................................................................................................... 15 VISUAL ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 AUDITORY................................................................................................................................................ 16 SPATIAL ................................................................................................................................................... 17 4. PERCEPTION OF MUSIC AS A PHENOMENON ................................................................................. 18 MUSIC AND PHENOMENOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 19 5. SPATIAL PERCEPTION................................................................................................................... 20 CIRCULATION .......................................................................................................................................... 20 VISION ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 AUDITORY................................................................................................................................................ 21 FUNCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 22 6. PHENOMENOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURAL PERCEPTION .................................................................... 23 THE ARCHITECTURE OF ABSENCE - SARTRE ............................................................................................ 26 7. UNDERLYING TRAITS OF MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE – CASE STUDIES ........................................... 27 SECONDARY CASE STUDY 1: TOUCHÉ VIDEOPRODUKTION – JOACHIM MÜLLNER ................................ 27 SECONDARY CASE STUDY 2: SAGARDA FAMILIA – HIGH GOTHIC MUSIC ............................................... 28 PRIMARY CASE STUDY : ILLAHI – OLD DELHI ROOFTOPS ....................................................................... 29 8. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................ 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................. 33


LIST OF FIGURES 2.1 Husserlian Phenomenology contrasted with Natural Science (Husserl's writings, 1970) ........ 9 2.2 Essence, appearance, manifestations and being.................................................................... 13 3.1 Eye tracking scanpath of a bust of Nefertiti (Alfred Yarbus, 1967) ........................................ 16


Bibliography Gabrielsson, A & Lindstrom, E (2001). ‘The influence of musical structure on emotional expression’, Music and Emotion: Theory and Research Goldstein, n.d. 2009: s.n. Schacter, D 2011, Psychology, Worth Publishers, London. Blauert, J 1997, Spatial Hearing: The Psychophysics of Human Sound Localization, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Bregman, A. S., 1990, Auditory Scene Analysis: The Perceptual Organization of Sound, , MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Nudds, M. and C. O'Callaghan, 2009, Sounds and Perception: New Philosophical Essays, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Smith, A. D., 2002, The Problem of Perception, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Dowling, W. J. (2002). ‘The development of music perception and cognition’. Foundations of Cognitive Psychology: Core Reading, New York. Gaston Bachelard (1958) The Poetics of Space, Penguin publishing group, London. Martin Heidegger, (1951) ‘Building Dwelling Thinking’,Poetry, Language, Thought, Harper Colophon Books, New York. Deborah Hauptmann, Ed 2006, The Body in Architecture, Rotterdam Publishers, London. Juhani Pallasmaa, 1996, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Wiley, New York. Christian Norberg-Schulz, 1980, Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. Rizzoli, New York. Boretz, Benjamin (1995). Meta-Variations: Studies in the Foundations of Musical Thought. Red Hook, New York. Tan, Siu-Lan, Pfordresher Peter, and Harré Rom, 2010. Psychology of Music: From Sound to Significance. Psychology Press, New York.


Works Cited Gabrielsson, A. & Lindstrom, E., (2001). "The influence of musical structure on emotional expression". Music and Emotion: Theory and Research. s.l.:s.n. Goldstein, n.d. 2009: s.n. Schacter, D., 2011. Psychology. s.l.:Worth Publishers. Berlyn, 1971, Rhythm of aesthetics, Penguin Publishing house, London. Meyer, LĂŠonard 1951, Music and emotions, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. M.H Thaut, n.d, Aesthetic perception of art and rhythm Budd, Malcolm, 1985, 'understanding music', International Library of Philosophy, London Debellis, Mark, 1991, 'the representational content of musical experience', Musical Philosophy, New York. Shepard, Roger N. and Daniel S. Jordan (1984) , ĂĄuditory illusions demonstrating that tones are assimilated to an internalised musical scale' Musical Philosophy Journal, New York. Nudds, M. and C. O'Callaghan, 2009, Sounds and Perception: New Philosophical Essays, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Leopold, Corneli (2005), 'Experiments on relations between geometry, architecture and music', MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.


2015 DISSERTATION

RADHIKA RAVINDRAN A/2444/2012 GUIDE : RAJIV BHAKAT CO ORDINATOR : LEON MORENAS

[MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE]

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH


RESEARCH QUESTION: What common underlying ground stones do Architecture and Music have in the human experience, which can be used to relate and translate them both into one another as an experience for the user/observer? AIM: This dissertation aims to approach the question through a phenomenological method of comparison between the components (perception) of the phenomenon of listening to music and moving through an architectural space, identifying certain instances in both the cases where in similarities of experience or occurrences in the life-world of humans happen because of them. OBJECTIVE: To explore the phenomenological translation of the phenomena of ce of music into architecture and vice-versa. METHODOLOGY: Firstly, there will be an explanation of phenomenology, its assumptions and working methods and about why this is the more viable method to explore the underlying similarities in music and architecture than others. This will be then followed by a phenomenological analysis of each of them - music and Architecture too, both when viewed as a phenomenon. Later, the components of these two phenomena will be put together, and similar underlying components will be compared and analysed. Explorations will also be done on the translations of these components into one another and therefore, of phenomenological translation of the phenomena or experience of music into architecture and vice-versa. SCOPE: This dissertation deals with the phenomenological analysis and comparative study of architecture and music. The concept of phenomenology that needs to be fitting for this study is gradually built up through the chapters, exploring in depth and other touching on

1


Husserlian existential phenomenology, first person, existential and Hermeneutic phenomenology. Phenomenology adds a level to perception. This study on perception of visual, auditory and movement is succeeded by spatial perception, and the elements that we can tangibly perceive, with their intangible qualities also, which give us a complete perception of architecture and space. Architecture and music are both looked at and studied as phenomenon and a common base for their comparative analysis is founded on which they are later compared through case studies. These comparisons are weighed and presented in the last chapter and possibilities of translation between music and space will also be presented. LIMITATIONS: This dissertation will however not deal with the mathematics of music and visual perception of a space.

2


CHAPTER OUTLINE Chapter 1 - Introduction In this chapter, the basics of phenomenology, phenomenon, music and space as phenomenon, human perception of music and space, possibility of their having common underlying traits will be discussed. Also, explorations about how phenomenology can be used as a method to analyse those specific instances which point toward the interconnectivity of music and spatial perception as phenomena will be made. Chapter 2: Phenomenology This chapter would deal with the basic concept of phenomenology, exploring in depth, the different kinds of approaches in phenomenology itself, like Husserlian existential phenomenology, the first person, existential and Hermenutic and also the processes involved in them, like intuiting etc. Also the phenomenological studies done by various philosophers are shown here. The balance between intellectual and emotional aspects of phenomenology, its importance in understanding the phenomena relevant to human and also in the design process, leaning on the side of environment-behaviour studies will also be glanced upon. Chapter 3: Perception The human ability to perceive happenings in the world outside and not just record them through the senses, which in itself is unique, is studied in this chapter. The various biological and psychological aspects of perception are looked at and then the study goes into the perception of aesthetics, focusing mostly on the visual and auditory channels. This study on perception of visual, auditory and movement is succeeded by spatial perception, and the elements that we can tangibly perceive, with their intangible qualities also, which give us a complete perception of architecture and space. Chapter 4: Perception of music as a phenomenon This chapter deals with the phenomenology of perception of music and music in itself as a phenomenon. The various components of music - melody, rhyme etc and their individual 3


characteristics - rhyme as a marker against time etc. will be looked at. Some ideas in the phenomenology of perception of music such as the interiority of sound, Musical thinking and Hegel's work on the same will also be explored to look for components of the phenomena which will be used in a comparative analysis with space in the later chapters. Chapter 5: Architecture or spatial perception as a phenomenon In this chapter, arguments related to architectural perception as a phenomenon will be looked at, like “existing, has to be in a place". The assumption of phenomenology that people and world are part and parcel of existing will be discussed and the specifics of place, world, environment and home, along with definitions and characteristics of dwelling and place etc will be looked at. Some of Bachelard's works will also be spoken about in this chapter. Components of the experience of the space/place phenomena will be pointed out used in the later chapters for the comparison of music and architecture. Chapter 6: Underlying traits of Music and Architecture through case studies This chapter explores the similarities between musical and architectural perception through case studies and interviews. Certain components in the experience of space and architecture will be compared to those which also come up in the phenomena of music, like emotions or experiences in the life-world which are too subtle or taken-for-granted to be missed or overlooked, like expansiveness, calmness or fear etc. Chapter 7: Conclusion - The common components of experience of architecture and music. The flow of the phenomenological perception of architecture and music into one another, the responses or occurrences in the life-world which they trigger in the human experience and also the way in which they do so will be explored in this chapter. These underlying common traits in some instances will be further looked into for any possibility of translation from one phenomenon into another, thereby translating the experience of architecture into music and vice-versa, which will be presented as a conclusion of this dissertation.

4


[CHAPTER 1] INTRODUCTION Humans are a complex species that exist on many levels. From the fragile physicality of our bodies to the subtle yet strong planes of our ideas, we experience life and the world we live in, in a multitude of varying depths, diversities and intensities. Despite being a product of a genetic lineage that has been engineered for survival and procreation - a large part of our understanding of the world has been necessary in terms of survival and also driven by the same instinct, we tend to possess an almost mysterious quality of perceiving, understanding and experiencing certain qualities of beauty, aesthetics and pure emotional pleasure in our lives. Humans have changed the world with their ability to perceive and then create, create maybe for others to perceive, things which are useful but more importantly beautiful. (Schacter, 2011) Perception can be defined as the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment around us. Most of our understanding and identification triggers a signal from our brain's emotional centre - most easily understandable ones being emotions based on physical survival instinct like fear. However, we curiously also have certain emotional responses from our brain which give us pleasure, happiness and wonder, which don’t have any survival or procreative utility. The perceptions which give us these kinds of experiences are usually called as being or possessing the quality of "aesthetics". These aesthetics and responses that certain sense perceptions of the physical world bring about inside us, the plane that these responses exist in and their study is a sketchy definition of phenomenology. This is the study of our individual, subjective responses – or rather, our inner worldview of the stimuli from the outer world. In here, there can be very similar responses to some perceptions of very different stimuli or phenomenon in the physical world – which brings in the possibility of the interconnectivity of phenomenon. From the multitude of things that we can perceive through either our 5 senses of auditory, visual, touch, olfactory or taste, the one that affects almost everyone alike, and brings about an almost equal intended emotional response, through the auditory perception, irrespective of the person's sensitivities or psychological make-up is music. 5


Broken down into its bare elements, music is a continuous series of sounds, of varying quality, stringed together in a pattern. This is the one case of perception, through the auditory sense where we can very clearly understand that a meaningful "aesthetic perception" is one that has a pattern in the way that it is being perceived. This presence of a pattern and its role in aesthetic perception is something that is common and vital to all the art forms which are of a beauty that is of the mind (rather than that of food, which can be termed as physical, since its perception and emotional response are attributed to survival) that exist. If this pattern is carefully separated and understood, it will seem to exist in visual aesthetic perception too. The pattern in which a certain object or a composition will make the eye and our sight move, with certain points holding its attention for longer than others will also be the reason why something appears to be aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, this can be taken as far as to say that any perception that has the quality of being aesthetic is indeed because of a pattern in which it is being perceived. Music has the simplicity of being linear and unidirectional in time unlike the other perceptions (visual perceptions being three dimensional with absolutely no direction) the underlying aesthetics-giving pattern can be more easily identified - and also created according to what emotional response or experience the perceiver is intended to feel. The experience and perception of space or architecture, on the other hand is multisensory, non-directional and very dynamic. It can include sensory perceptions like visual, touch (temperature), auditory (the way sound behaves in that space) and also complex like user experience, functional etc. the aesthetics of this kind of perception isn’t something that is readily felt or identified but must rather be carefully observed in our responses to the multitude of diverse stimuli being perceived and the order/pattern in which it is being done so. This dissertation deals with this possibility that can the underlying pattern in which the sounds occur in a music piece that is intended to make the perceiver feel a certain emotion or an experience be isolated from the auditory zone and applied onto the perception of space itself - architecture. This will be an attempt to create a phenomenological experience of a certain piece of music by translating the underlying 6


pattern of the piece into spatial qualities and thereby designing space and architecture in reference to something that is much more inherent and intimate to our human sense of aesthetics and beauty than are all of our current elements and theories of design.

7


[CHAPTER 2] PHENOMENOLOGY Phenomenology is the study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first person view. (Stanford, 2003) It is study of phenomena connecting the parallel lines of subjectivity and objectivity. In other words, the study of responses occurring in the various structures of our experience (consciousness) that are caused by our perceptions of things in the physical world through our senses is called phenomenology. This plane of structures, in which responses are caused, exist and experienced directly or consciously, is called the lifeworld, in the phenomenological terminology. It is the rough equivalent of a perception-response filtered equivalent of the physical world. Whether an experience is ordinary or extraordinary, however, the lifeworld in which the experience happens is normally out of sight. Typically, human beings do not make their experiences in the lifeworld an object of conscious awareness. Rather, these experiences just happen, and people do not consider how they happen, whether they could happen differently, or of what larger experiential structures they might be a part. Our experience is much richer than mere sensation. Phenomenology addresses the meaning things have in our life. Basically, phenomenology studies the structure of various types of experience ranging from perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire, and volition to bodily awareness, embodied action, and social activity, including linguistic activity. Phenomenology is a prism which systematically divides every components of experience while it traverses through it in order to visualize the internal structure which is out of neurology and psychology.

8


Fig. 2.1 Husserlian Phenomenology contrasted with Natural Science (Husserl's writings, 1970)

Husserl viewed consciousness and its essential structures as a pure "region" separate from the flux of specific experiences and thoughts, his style of phenomenology came to be known as "transcendental."(Seamon, 2000) In most cases, we do not notice this phenomenology in everyday experience because of the ready acceptance of any experience. Mostly as the sense-experience is being explained till the extent that “I” coincides with the perceived, the latter ceases to have any place in the objective world. The internal structure is its 'intentionality'. This 'intentional structure' consists of the temporal and spatial awareness, self-awareness, purpose etc. Like traditional approach in phenomenology, it is not subjective, practical and social conditions of any experience. Ultimately it leads into some background conditions of our experience. “I therefore define phenomenology as the exploration and description of phenomena, where phenomena refer to things or experiences as human beings experience them.”(Seamon,2000) Any object, event, situation or experience that a person can see, hear, touch, smell, taste, feel, intuit, know, understand, or live through is a legitimate topic for phenomenological investigation. There can be a phenomenology of light, of colour, of 9


architecture, of landscape, of place, of home, of travel, of seeing, of learning, of blindness, of jealousy, of change, of relationship, of friendship, of power, of economy, of sociability, and so forth. All of these things are phenomena because human beings can experience, encounter, or live through them in some way. The ultimate aim of phenomenological research, however, is not idiosyncratic descriptions of the phenomenon, though such descriptions are often an important starting point for existential phenomenology. Rather, the aim is to use these descriptions as a ground stone from which to discover underlying commonalities that mark the essential core of the phenomenon. In other words, the phenomenologist pays attention to specific instances of the phenomenon with the hope that these instances, in time, will point toward more general qualities and characteristics that accurately describe the essential nature of the phenomenon as it has presence and meaning in the concrete lives and experiences of human beings. In an empirical approach, phenomenological intuiting is one of the most demanding operations, which requires utter concentration on the object intuited without being absorbed in it to the point of no longer looking critically. Nevertheless, there is little that the beginning phenomenologist can be given by way of precise instructions beyond such metaphoric phrases as "opening his eyes," "keeping them open," "not getting blinded," looking and listening (Spiegelberg, 1982, p. 682).

THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH People and environment compose an indivisible whole radical empiricism or simply a new way of looking at things. This study is an interpretive study of human experience while interacting with nature through the two phenomena of music and architecture. Phenomenology provides a useful conceptual language for bridging objectivity and subjectivity still valuing the intuitive approach in both. There are three methods of comparisons with phenomenology are adopted here.

10


1st person phenomenological approach Identifying the phenomenon and questioning one and finding solutions intuitively. There will be influence of one’s previous experiences and knowledge playing a very important role in this. Existential phenomenological research The experience is identified and experience of a second person is studied and compared. This will be influenced by the knowledge and experience of the second person and also the way of analysing by the first person. Hermeneutical phenomenological research The written texts are studied and the phenomenological way is studied and compared. This is a third person analysis. It is influenced by the knowledge possessed by the writer, his intuitions and the third person’s way and differences in comparison. Phenomenological method incorporates a certain uncertainty and spontaneity that must be accepted and transformed into possibility and pattern. The phenomenological approach to a particular phenomenon must be developed creatively and allow for a fluidity of methods and research process. As von Eckartsberg (1998a, p. 15) explains, “How is it that we can say what we experience and yet always live more than we can say, so that we could always say more than we in fact do? How can we evaluate the adequacy or inadequacy of our expression in terms of its doing justice to the full lived quality of the experience described? How can be our thought and life can be interdependent, though they contradict each other many times?” HEIDEGGERIAN PHENOMENOLOGY Through any activity that we humans involve in, right from the most intellectual to the most mundane of them is a reflection of, and an attempt to explore philosophically the most central question of the phenomenon of being. Heidegger's phenomenology is a circle of thought. It is like a choice of a different direction to draw a circle.

11


Eg. According to Heidegger, the building stood, as a fragment of past, to mark the human inhabitation at a place. Also, the human habitation at the place is marked by the building. The process of thinking in this scenario is not following a definitive path opened up by successive steps, like in logic but rather a wandering from a starting point and staying open to the findings that come up along the way, without marking them as definitive points of conclusion. The diversity in this model is derived from each person’s individual judgement of their findings. Near to us are what we call things. But what is a thing? Man has so far given no more thought to the thing as a thing than he has to nearness. (1971: 166) Heidegger Phenomenology begins with the bare fact of human existence, arguing that the world is always already there before anyone tries to reflect upon it. Thing and object Any paraphernalia of life which merges itself into reality and practicality derives its 'thingness' from being merely an object. For Heidegger, language recorded that a thing gathered what was around it for reflection. And what it gathered, through its existence and its use, was the fourfold: ‘The presence of something present such as the jug comes into its own, appropriately manifests and determines itself, only from the thinging of the thing’ (1971, 177). e.g. Imagine a sculpture jug that is crafted from a rock. It has no void and is merely a piece of rock in the shape of a jug. Once you take out the rock from inside and create a void inside, it gains a purpose. It gains something practical and thus it can connect with other life forms. There establishes a connection with the fourfold comprising the earth, sky, divinities and mortals. In a nutshell, it gathers the fourfold within the connecting void. He attributes the same potential to buildings. One of the interesting ways Heidegger adopted is to find the origin of the words under various linguistics .Etymological connections were drawn out and thus different meanings were adopted for the same word. 12


SARTRE - EXISTENTIALISM AND PHENOMENOLOGY The appearances which manifest the existent are neither interior nor exterior; they are all equal. They are effects whose totalities form phenomena. Therefore, the appearance is not a hidden reality that would drain to itself all the being of the existent. This helps phenomenon to eliminate dualisms of existence. Phenomenon is absolutely indicative of itself. Even the work done by a person is considered as the totality of manifestations of the person.

Fig. 2.2 Essence, appearance, manifestations and being

Duhem argues phenomenology to be nominalism and has synthetic unity of describing appearances. Kant's theory supports the same. But if phenomenology is a numenon, then essence will always have a single synthetic appearance which manifests as the being. This can't be true because the being has multiple appearances. A phenomenal being manifests itself; it manifests its essence and existence and nothing but the well connected series of its manifestations. Also, Sartre argues that appearance cannot be a thin film of nothingness which separates being of the subject and the absolute being. 13


“The essence is not in the object, it is the meaning of the object, the principle of series of appearances which disclose it.� In his work Berkeley says, ‘to be is to be perceived', which means, a part of appearance is the being. This contradicts with the fact discussed above. Also, understanding anything is an ontological thing. This raises the argument that one should have been there to understand what is reality or existence. Thus consciousness is not mode of a particular knowledge but it is the dimension of transphenomenal being in the subject. It can know and know itself. In phenomenology, the percipient is the one who perceives and the essence of the appearance is treated as percipi. Here, we deal with ourselves being the percipients and architecture and music being the percipi. Rather we are dealing with the very essence of both the subjects and not the subject as the whole. The simultaneous perception of both these thus becomes important rather than treating them as two separate wholes.

14


[CHAPTER 3] PERCEPTION AND PATTERNS AESTHETIC PERCEPTION: There exists a common view that aesthetic perception bears an objective part in its content, one that enables the categorization of some objects as aesthetic. Aesthetic objects are usually considered as all those things that “carry a certain function�: to provoke an aesthetic form of response, to transmit information that evokes an aesthetic interest or experience ( ingarden, 1961; walsh, 1974;lind, 1980; carroll, 1986; bennett, 2002). Although most of what humans inherited through genetics are tools for survival and procreation, there is scope and sometimes an impulse to seek pleasure in things, not of survival utility, but of beauty. These are what we understand as aesthetics. To look at this from a biological point of view, the aesthetic perception towards any artwork can be measured by two variables of our biological functions. Physiological and their associated behavioural. These variables are called arousals and activations (berlyne(1971), aesthetics and psychobiology) . These variables keep on fluctuating with each absorption of sense organs. Art including music and architecture have profound influences in the brain functions which are intrinsic to every living organism. Arousal is a term referring to multiple processes of nervous system relating the states of heightened physiological activity expressed , in autonomous nervous system (e.g heart rate , blood pressure) , neuroendocrine system ( e.g., hormones) or central nervous system ( e.g., muscle activation , brain waves , sensory perception etc.) The term activation refers to the behaviour states associated with the physiological arousal states. ( M.H. Thaut , n.d.) These states have different dimensions of getting triggered. Artworks including music and space have strong stimulus properties or attributes that induce heightened states of activations/ arousals.

15


Visual In an art form or a painting that is to be perceived visually, the aesthetics usually depend on the compositions of the object. The composition is the arrangement of elements such as colours and forms in a certain way in that place or space which will be leading our visual perception so as to give visual information in that specific rhythm that a certain mood has inherently.

Fig. 3.1 eye tracking scanpath of a bust of Nefertiti by Alfred Yarbus, 1967

When the human eye observes something (like the bust of cleopatra or any other work of art, in fig.3.1) It does so according to a balance between the visual rhythm of its form and other aspects like the “visual gravity� of a certain point because of its colour, light intensity etc. This knowledge about directing the eye movement and thus sequencing the visual data of a space that the eye takes in to form a concerted rhythm will be a direct translation of that. Auditory The word perception has come to predominantly suggest a sense of vison or sight. The fact that there are other more significant means of perception are quietened down by the things we perceive dominantly and the means through which we do it – both related to sight. Auditory perception, unlike vision, lacks a spatial structure or field. (Nudds, M. 2002) A purely auditory experience thus would not comprise a spatial field into which individuals independent from oneself might be experienced. Following an example from Martin (1992), 16


Nudds argues that while vision involves awareness of unoccupied locations, audition does not involve awareness of regions of space as empty or unoccupied. Martin's example is seeing the space in the center of a ring as empty. In audition, Nudds claims, one never experiences a space as empty or unoccupied. Spatial Spatial perception, thought widely understood as the ability of decoding space into informative bits and pieces which tell us about its content and physical quality, is not limited to physicality alone. The predominant tool that has been upheld in perceiving space is the sense of vision, although philosophers now talk about the auditory, oalfactory and tactile senses as being able to perceive space too, albeit in a very different manner from the vision. The question however, is that if space is capable of being perceived by the auditory sense, then is the information that vision provides about the space complete, or is space something that needs to be perceived by all that can possibly perceive it, in all the possible ways for one to truly perceive it in its physical totality.

17


[CHAPTER 4] PERCEPTION OF MUSIC AS A PHENOMENON Appreciating music is appreciating sounds and sequences, arrangements, or structures of sounds. Thus, the temporal aspects of auditory experiences are critical to appreciatively listening to music. One might go further and hold that sounds are all that matters in music. In particular, some have argued that appreciatively listening to music demands listening in a way that abstracts from the environmental significance, and thus from the specific sources, of the sounds it includes (Scruton 1997, 2–3). Such acousmatic listening involves experiencing sounds in a way that is “detached from the circumstances of their production,” rather than “as having a certain worldly cause” (Hamilton 2007, 58; see also Hamilton 2009). Listening to music and being receptive to its aesthetically relevant features requires not listening to violins, horns, or brushes on snare drums. It requires hearing sounds and grasping them in a way removed from their common sources. (Hearing a high fidelity recording thus furnishes an aesthetically identical musical experience despite having a speaker cone rather than a violin as source.) “The acousmatic experience of sound is precisely what is exploited by the art of music” (Scruton 1997, 3). This suggests an intuitive difference between music and visual arts such as painting and sculpture. As Kivy (1991) explains, it is difficult even with the most abstract paintings and sculptures to see them in a way that takes them to be entirely formal or abstract. That is, it is difficult to avoid seeing pictures and sculptures as representational. In contrast, it seems easier to listen attentively to the formal acoustical features of musical sounds, without being compelled to think of what makes them. Musical listening thus may be thought to provide a prima facie argument against the claim that in hearing sounds one typically hears sound sources such as the strumming of guitars and bowing of violins. If such “interested” audition were the rule, musical listening would be far more challenging.

18


MUSIC AND PHENOMENOLOGY " ..Whereas it does seem true that I am hearing that tone throughout a certain interval of time, it does not seem it can be true that I am hearing all of it (or an extended part of it) at any given instant of that interval. Yet, throughout that interval I continuously experience the endurance, or the continuity, of that tone and this requires (contrary to the previous hypothesis) that I experience at any given instant ... more than a mere instantaneous phase of the tone. How, then is an instantaneous perceptual experience of the temporal continuity, or the temporal passage, of a tone possible? (Miller 1984) " The ability to perceive emotion in music is said to develop early in childhood, and improve significantly throughout development. The capacity to perceive emotion in music is also subject to cultural influences, and both similarities and differences in emotion perception have been observed in cross-cultural studies. Empirical research has looked at which emotions can be conveyed as well as what structural factors in music help contribute to the perceived emotional expression. It has been argued that the emotion experienced from a piece of music is a multiplicative function of structural features, performance features, listener features and contextual features of the piece. Structural features are divided into two parts, segmental features and suprasegmental features. Segmental features are the individual sounds or tones that make up the music; this includes acoustic structures such as duration, amplitude, and pitch. Suprasegmental features are the foundational structures of a piece, such as melody, tempo and rhythm. There are a number of specific musical features that are highly associated with particular emotions. (Gabrielsson & Lindstrom, (2001))within the factors affecting emotional expression in music, tempo is typically regarded as the most important, but a number of other factors, such as mode, loudness, and melody, also influence the emotional balance of the piece.

19


[CHAPTER 5] SPATIAL PERCEPTION Spatial perception is the ability to sense the size, shape, movement, and orientation of objects. The primary sense used to perceive spatial relationships is the sense of sight, though other senses may also play a role in determining the spatial positions of objects. Like other forms of perception, spatial perception occurs both in the sensory organs that collect data about the environment and in the brain. It is possible to notice the process of spatial perception through the use of tricks such as optical illusions, but the process in which the brain creates a three dimensional map of the area is completely subconscious. Depth perception is one of the main components of spatial perception. The brain is able to determine how far away objects are by observing the way they pass in front of or behind one another and by judging the relative size of objects. Determining whether objects are moving and comparing the data that comes in through each of the eyes also plays a role in depth perception. When the brain analyzes all of this data it is able to approximate the distances between the observer and the observed objects as well as the distances between objects. Knowing how far away or how close objects are is an important part of spatial awareness. This usually makes use of all the five sense organs, although the visual perception is predominant. For sensing the size, shape, movement, and orientation of objects contained within a space the primary sense used is the sense of sight, though other senses may also play a role in determining the spatial positions of objects. Circulation: Circulation in architecture is one of the two main ways through which space can be perceived - the other being visual. This aspect brings in the experience of immersion into the space and the spatial quality. Circulation can give us an experience of the space that is freely dynamic in which the perceiver is free to move through in any direction he desires and is able to experience the space in a very multi directional way. Sometimes, it can function the same way as composition does in the case of a two dimensional visually perceived object or art work. It can guide the person through the pathways and spaces, provide transitory spaces, join two entirely different spaces or simply movement within any 20


space by an object is termed circulation. It is mainly the relative motion of any object containing the space within the space. Vision: There are certain visual aspects that are part of an architectural space on occasions. There might be symbolic, meaningful or just meaningless and put up purely for some ornamental purpose. These aspects might add meaning to the space depending upon the experience, memory or the belief system of the observer or might just aid in guiding the visual focus from one point to another or at some other times, act as anchors of visual gravity and thus aid in the perception of the space itself as well as the visual aspect of the space. Auditory: Notably, a tradition of skepticism about audition's spatiality exists in philosophy. Certainly, our capacity to glean information about space is less acute in audition than in vision. Vision reveals fine-grained spatial details, such as patterns and textures, that audition cannot convey. But philosophers who are skeptical about spatial audition are not just concerned about a difference in spatial acuity between audition and vision. (Strawson, 1959) A purely auditory experience would be non-spatial. “purely auditory experience� means an exclusively auditory experience, or an auditory experience in absence of experience associated with any other modality. Given the mechanisms of spatial hearing, however, it is empirically implausible that a normal acoustic environment with rich spatial cues would fail to produce even a minimally spatial purely auditory experience. Even listening only to stereo headphones could produce a directional auditory experience. If any modality in isolation ever could ground spatial experience, audition could. On the other hand, it does seem possible that there could be a non-spatial but impoverished exclusively auditory experience if no binaural or other spatial cues were present. But similarly impoverished, non-spatial experiences seem possible for other modalities. Consider visually experiencing a uniform gray ganzfeld, or floating weightlessly in a uniformly warm bath. Neither provides the materials for spatial concepts, so neither differs from audition in this respect. One might contend that we therefore lack a good reason to think that, in contrast 21


to a purely visual or tactile experience, a purely auditory experience would be an entirely non-spatial experience. Function The beauty of spatial perception is that it is the summation of all the other senses and thus whatever holds true for the rest is also true for this, there is sometimes content and meaning in the perception when we mentally or physically are able to interact with it. An example would be looking at an object which has a word written on it, or a sound which is a word in a language. The content, quality or meaning of the stimuli changes our perception of it. The equivalent in space would be the possibility and the scope of interacting with it, like moving, creating sound etc. Thus, one of the prime stimuli that space offers one other than through the sense is the possibility to do something in it in a certain way, which roughly translates to function in an architectural space.

22


[CHAPTER 6] PHENOMENOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURAL PERCEPTION Designing an experience is a unique responsibility of an architect. The theory of phenomenology acknowledges this responsibility by implementing sensory design in order to establish experiential, architectural space. Phenomenology demonstrated in architecture is the manipulation of space, material, and light and shadow to create a memorable encounter through an impact on the human senses. This theory promotes the integration of sensory perception as a function of a built form. This creates an experience that is beyond tangible, but rather abstract, observed and perceived. An analysis of this aesthetic through interpretation of its qualitative elements and the exploration of case studies by phenomenological theorists, Alberto PĂŠrez-GĂłmez, Peter Zumthor and Steven Holl, as supportive evidence will highlight its fundamental characteristics as a theory, in contrast to a more rationalist design approach. An observational argument to prioritize the human experience in design will be determined by exploring the theoretical construct of phenomenology. Architecture influences the community through incorporating human activity with adapted site context, organized programmatic and interstitial space, and exploration of material. Phenomenological concept strategies in architectural design intend to develop a unique experience of the phenomena of space, light and form. This theory contrasts rationalism by analyzing quality based on its affect on the sensitivity of human perception, rather than developing a mechanical sense of reason and tectonics. As defined by theorist Vernon Bourke, rationalism is a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive" (Bourke p.263). Rationalism produces a layered system of scientific reduction, whereas phenomenology delivers layers of sensory details such as emotion informed by design features of light and shadow, material and spatial perception. A new interpretation of functionality within design exists in the phenomenological construct. The dynamics of human perception, of the individual and the community, should influence design form and function, in terms of circulation and organization of an elastic, sinuous program to produce sensory architecture. Architecture is designed to serve the needs of human activity;

23


therefore, creates a relationship between human senses and the building to transform emotion and perception. Throughout history admiration for the human body in architecture resonates, specifically in its relationship to human perception. Christian NorbergSchulz stresses that “the environment influences human beings, and this implies that the purpose of architecture transcends the definition given by early functionalism” (Norberg-Schulz 5). Phenomenology is the function of quality. Design should foremost consider sensory details when integrating a collaborative program. Intimate memories of place are often derived from intricate forms of detail allowing a bond, beyond physical use of a building, an experience, to become ingrained in memory. The compositions and beliefs of Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Steven Holl, and Peter Zumthor emphasize the power of phenomenon in their theoretical constructs. Their arguments consider that the sensory experience between an architectural object and those who encounter it should be critical and complimentary. These followers are determined to revive emotion-evoking design through space, material and light and shadow through expression of these features into the both the larger context and intimate human perception. The manifestation of this philosophy will be further explored through a case study analysis of both Steven Holl’s Nelson Atkins Art Museum Bloch Addition in Kansas City and in Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals in Switzerland. In his book, “Architecture and The Crisis of Modern Science”, Alberto Pérez-Gómez challenges modern architecture to “reaffirm its role as the theatre of memory and metaphorthat there is no such thing as a meaningless structure” (Rykwert). Pérez-Gómez expresses the origination of architectural program through human perception and sensual experience when he suggests: “ [The human body] is the locus of all formulations about the world; it not only occupies space and time but consists of spatiality and temporality… its experience is therefore “geometrical”. The [extension of this] constitutes the thrust of architectural design, the creation of an order resonant with the body’s own” (Pérez-Gómez 3) There is strategic elasticity between human perception and architectural rigor. In his illustrative book, “Thinking Architecture”, Peter Zumthor believes that, “In [my job as an architect], I contribute to the existing physical framework, to the atmosphere of places and spaces that kindle our 24


emotions…[Arranging] the sequences of rooms to guide us, take us places, but also let us go and seduce us” (Zumthor 85-86). Phenomenology can be exposed through arrangement of architectural elements. Steven Holl declares, “While sensations and impressions quietly engage us in the physical phenomena of architecture, the generative force lies in the intentions behind it." (Holl, Pallasmaa, and Perez-Gomez 41) There is a realization that the qualitative characteristics of phenomenology propose a necessary understanding of the sensory perception of space. A common theme in each phenomenological approach to design is the management of space, material and light and shadow. In phenomenology, space is determined by the development of fluid, flexible program and the utilization of interstitial space. Steven Holl elaborates on an “architectural synthesis” in the book, “Questions of Perception”, suggesting, “foreground, middle ground, and distant view, together with all the subjective qualities of material and light, form the basis of ‘complete perception’” (Holl, Pallasmaa, and Perez-Gomez 44). This establishes the necessity for place making through sensory observance. Initially, the combination of space, material and light design features creates a sensory observation for the person and then they develop an understanding of space. Material is the tactile form of phenomenology that facilitates memory. Zumthor often describes some of his most vivid memories through the expression of texture and material. He begins, “There was once a time when I experienced architecture without even thinking about it”, before he goes on to reveal a vivid illustration on childhood memories of the texture of a “particular door handle”, “gravel under his feet” and “soft asphalt warmed by the sun”. The phenomenon of materiality induces memories and emotions, reflecting on of the layers of this theory. “Memories like these contain the deepest architectural experience that I know. They are the reservoirs of the architectural atmospheres and images that I explore in my work as an architect,” Zumthor states (Thinking Architecture 9-10). It is the point where direct connection between the experience and the visitor come into contact. Not only does this involve the physical sense of touch but implied visual stimulus as well

25


THE ARCHITECTURE OF ABSENCE – JEAN PAUL SARTRE Sartre suggests that absence is the unconditional principle of all imagination. Thus, architecture that attempts to account for absence - in-situ commemorative structures (space), sacred sites (place), and spontaneous memorials (location) - are singled out here. They provide tangible evidence of the absent. Although, these examples are often discussed under the rubric of memory making, they also trigger imagination. Sartre distinguishes imagination from remembering, perceiving, and other more passive types of consciousness. It is argued here that, by understanding how direct experiences with places that account for absence invite imagination, we may gain insight into an ontology of architecture. The phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty feature frequently in architectural theories regarding experience. Sartre offers an interpretation of imagination that is in relationship to the world, invited by the physical objects and spaces we encounter. For example, walking down the street you see a building on the corner. You can only perceive two sides of this building, but you know there is a whole physical object - the building - there. You don’t perceive the entirety of the building, but there is a ‘real sense’ that you perceive the whole building. In terms of the Sartrean imagination, you see the whole building, but not the whole of the building; linking imaging with imagining. Like Husserl’s phenomenology, Sartre’s work accepts the qualitative messiness of the world. Unlike Husserl, Sartre does not bracket off phenomena to determine their essential structure. Instead Sartre’s imagining consciousness remains enmeshed within the rich milieu of the world, oscillating between being and nothingness. Indeed, Sartre’s writing is filled with anecdotes from a very chaotic and concrete world, ranging from looking down bustling city streets to observing the behaviours of a busy waiter. Thus, his views may be very relevant to explorations of architecture that situates and are situated by this world. Influenced by Heidegger, Sartre also concerns himself with being in the world. However, the two philosophers’ approaches to being are distinct. Unlike Heidegger, Sartre does not eschew a dualistic ontology, but uses it as a starting point for his phenomenology. For Sartre, you can no more be the table you are encountering, than the table can be you. According to philosopher Robert Bernasconi, ‘neither consciousness, nor “the thing”, has priority’.

26


[CHAPTER 7] UNDERLYING TRAITS OF MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE THROUGH CASE STUDIES Reverberation, in psychoacoustics and acoustics, is the persistence of sound after a sound is produced. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing a large number of reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is absorbed by the surfaces of objects in the space – which could include furniture and people, and air. (Michael; Dunn; Roeser (2008)). Reverb has existed as long as there have been soundwaves, obstacles for them to hit, and ears to hear what happens when they do. In every possible space—landscape, cityscape, and architectural formation—the effect announces itself differently, though we’re seldom aware of it unless we’re in grand, cavernous spaces like a cathedral or mountain gorge.

SEONDARY CASE STUDY 1: Touché Videoproduktion , Composed, written and performed by Joachim Müllner (aka the Wikisinger) With “no artificial reverb added,” Mullner demonstrates how much environment contributes to the quality of what we hear with a montage of sound and video clips from several—very aesthetically pleasing—locations. In each place, every one different from another in terms of the objects in the space, their scale, arrangement etc, Müllner sings the same strange song: in a tunnel, an attic, a field before an oil derricks, the nave of a cathedral, and an anechoic chamber—which resembles the interior of an alien spacecraft and produces no reflections whatsoever. Sometimes the effect is subtle, inviting the listener to lean in and listen more closely and at some other times it’s outsized and operatic. In another “no reverb added” acoustic performance of the similar kind, Mullner snaps, cracks, booms, and crashes through the same beat in garages, open fields, and underpasses. With each abrupt shift in location comes an abrupt shift in the frequency and duration of the sounds, as the full spectrums of the sound of his song collides with metal, flat and curved surfaces, concrete, asphalt, and open air. The ways in which sound and space interact in many ways one most direct of which is the reverb effect of the sound, are some of the factors that can determine the shape of a 27


musical form. The music performance and the experiment’s sounds appeals to both the neophytes as well as to the audiophiles among people to manifest the surrounding space, and also define it in a very unique way based on the sound echoed. Thus the sound or the music has a higher importance in the space in which it is being performed and thus it forms the link for perceiving a space through completely audio signals and vibrations. Forming the percipi, in this case, music maintains its transphenomenal being by providing a certain concrete and unique conception of the 'contained' in order to attain its totality. Also when considered in terms of Heideggarian theories, It forms the thing connecting the fourfold.

SECONDART CASE STUDY 2: Sagrada Familia – High Gothic Music Antoni Gaudi’s ‘La Sagrada Familia’ evokes a sense of eeriness that is commonly attributed to a genre of music, known as the ‘High Gothic’. On closely comparing both, one may find that they are not that far apart in the overall otherworldly aspect, even though the form of expression is as different as it possibly could be. A piano rendition of one of the pieces, begins on a slow note, suspense building up with every second, it reaches a crescendo of the notes and also, of the emotions induced. The feelings of fear, restlessness and insignificance take over. The urge to stop the music gains momentum even as the reluctance of letting go of the mystery forces the listener to remain hooked till the end. It is the kind of music that sends chills down the spine initially. The tune slowly changes from eerie to a melancholic song. It achieves a certain sense of seriousness and sombreness as it progresses. The percipi follows the increasing pace of the song, hoping to get to some thrilling conclusion, but instead, finds herself at a cul de sac. As the song culminates, disappointment takes over the drama ends. The other subject in hand, ‘La Sagrada Familia’, at first glance, looks dark, sinister and unlike any church. On approaching the building, the carvings and the sculptures catch the eye. The facade is broken up into different horizontal and vertical components to give a grand theatrical feel to it. In ‘La Sagrada’, the three main facades, – Glory (South), Nativity (East), Passion (West) – each of them having a distinct character, depict variations in texture 28


and shadows, basically the way one perceives a building. The contrast between the soft, elegant sculptures on the East facade and the sharp, cutting and gruesome carvings on the West facade provides a magnificent stage for the drama to unfold. The thrill of exploring the interiors of the building persuades the percipi to enter. On entering however, the tall columns with the base branching out, reminds one of the dark woods, the branches perceived as roots and the towering columns perceived as the trees. To further add to the scene, the skylights made with stained glass filter the sunlight, to cast shadows. Even though the building makes one feel small and insignificant, the mystical aspects make one want to unearth all the overpowering factors. In both the cases, the phenomenon of a sense of mystery and awe, of experiencing thrill and fear has been articulated. Or conversely, it can be said that the sense of mystery within the percipere has made her recognise the mystical aspects of the church as well as the musical. The innate emotion of fear in the percipere has brought out all the aspects of the church and the musical piece that evoke those feelings.

PRIMARY CASE STUDY: Ilahi – Old Delhi Rooftops: Bollywood music director Pritam’s hit song ‘Ilahi’, sung by singer Mohit Chauhan, makes for an interesting comparison with the rooftops of any area in an urban setting, i.e., taking ‘Rooftops’ as a single continuous entity. The song shouts out freedom in its every verse, which is an aspect that is pronounced on the rooftop of any building. While the former subject is related to music, and the latter is an architectural space, what connects them both is the common phenomenon that they both establish – the feeling of elation. And both subjects have their own characteristic traits responsible for evoking this phenomenon. The song, owing to its fast pace, is full of life, hitting ecstatic notes throughout. It is a perfect synthesis of correct energy quotient, embodying the beauty of a carefree life. Electric strumming and dynamic drum beats form the core of the song along with the beautiful voice render. Overall, it can be perceived as one continuous flow of energy.

29


On the other hand, it can be said that a skyline of rooftops - with its degrees of varying heights – would also be perceived in a similar manner. Suppose one were to imagine a person running on the rooftops, jumping from one roof to another, wherein the points of transition between two adjacent roofs take place smoothly – In such a case, there is a continuous progression in the motion. This idea induces the same kind of excitement as the song does. Other facets of the rooftops include the vast openness of the field of vision and the boundless sky that makes a person’s mind and heart wander. Conversely, it may be recognized the other way round. The intuitive emotion of elation in the percipere makes him relate to the elative aspects that are present in the song as well as in the rooftops. In the case of the song, the immediately notable trait is the high tempo which we connect with buoyancy. The other buoyant aspects of the percipi are then gradually realised by the percipere – for instance, the rapid strumming and the flow of the song, etc. In the case of the rooftops, elation is a first reaction in response to the visual freedom – a natural response considering how there is always some visual obstruction in our everyday lives. This first response thereupon kick-starts a domino of observations which beautify the rooftops for the percipere, who notices the vastness of the ground beneath, unhampered by high walls; the magnanimous envelope of the sky above; the flowing nature of adjacent roofs; etc. It is this innate elation in the percipere that brings out the refreshing qualities in both the percipi, thus validating the architectural beauty of rooftops and the musical brilliance of the song.

30


[Chapter 8] CONCLUSION The primary mode of perceiving space for humans is through vision, predominantly. But when talking about the auditory perception of music and visual perception of space, there exists, very simply put, an intuitive difference between music and visual perception of other forms or objects. As Kivy (1991) had explained, “it is difficult even with the most abstract paintings and sculptures to see them in a way that takes them to be entirely formal or abstract. That is, it is difficult to avoid seeing pictures and sculptures as representational. In contrast, it seems easier to listen attentively to the formal acoustical features of musical sounds, without being compelled to think of what makes them.” Thus there is a greater scope of understanding spatial perception though and alongside auditory perception of music as it is intuitively more inherent to our lifeworld responses and emotional makeup. Space and sound, though both very diverse in their nature and our perception, can be designed to cause similar responses in the life world of the percipere. One reason of this would be, in the designed space, there is sometimes a hint to prompt and a scope for the user to behave and interact in a certain way in it, with it and though it – a real life example being the rooftops of Old Delhi as quoted in the case study. These spaces through their design prompt the user to experience a certain feeling or an emotion through interaction by their senses and notions which could bring out the same phenomenological responses from this percipere as the experience of listening to a musical piece designed to cause and bring out a response of a similar feeling in the listener. There are also, certain other physical and psychobiological similarities between the perception of space and sound. For example the spatial quality of the auditory impulses, the interaction of space and sound, their effects like reverberation, echo – all of which show the inherent relationship between space and music and their interdependence. Thus the transphenomenal nature of the experience and emotion inherent in both these entities as they are perceived by the senses, bring out similar phenomenological response in the lifeworld. The different components and their qualities that play a role in our perception of these two entities of architecture or space and music can be broken down and more segregated as to what combination in what temporal order produces similar phenomenological responses 31


from the percipere for a more clear and lucid understanding of the physical translation of one experience into another through phenomenology. This knowledge can then be used for a whole new level of detailed and experiential-focused design of both architectural space and music pieces. It can also be used to enrich the designing process of architectural space and buildings, not as just tailored to fulfil functional and certain aesthetic necessities and expectations but to go beyond that and compose a space, with successions, emotions, arousals and experiences like in a musical piece – Meyer( 1956) this understanding and experience in music are based on the expectations that are built rapidly (and sometimes subconsciously) during the listening process relative to how musical events follow each other, based on the proper application of syntactical rules in the compositional language. This kind of design would also bring the perception of architecture and spatial design from the domain of these few literate and sensitive to the jargon of subtle spatial experience, the emotions it creates and the phenomenological responses and experiences it brings about in the percipere, to a more diverse population of the everyday user of the space. It could potentially, transform architectural space from a passive stimuli to an active one like music, creating a more intense interaction with people, in a trans phenomenal plane which would ultimately translate into the physical world, as architecture of more quality, experiential accessibility and beauty.

32


Bibliography

Works Cited

33


34



Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.