Chicago Jazz Center by Siegfried Flores

the chicago jazz center

siegfried flores

Copyright ÂŠ 2012 by Siegfried Flores All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher, unless for use by the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University. This book was set in Candara by Gary Munch of Munchfonts and Microsoft, and was printed and bound in the United States of America by lulu.com Flores, Siegfried. The Chicago Jazz Center / by Siegfried Flores

for my grandmother you were always confident in my abilities and encouraged me to always persevere I am forever thankful

table of contents introduction

exoskeleton

music and architecture

the chicago jazz center

the program

the site

concepts

final design

appendix

123

introduction It can easily be said that architecture has almost always been focused on the visual perception of a space. However, architecture, or at least good architecture, should have the ability to engage all of the senses, creating a unique way of experiencing space. Particularly focusing on the aural perception of architecture, it is equally as important to our spatial consciousness as the visual perception, however, has always been subordinate to the latter. The only time sound has really ever been taken into consideration with architecture is for acoustic design, for example, the neutralization of amplification of sound for spaces such as concert halls, or auditoriums. That being said, the Chicago Jazz Center developed into an experimental study that strives to focus on the correlations between sound or music and architecture, specifically asking the question, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can the translation between music and architecture be used as a tool to articulate the experience of sound and space.â&#x20AC;?

exoskeleton: on the theme of extruded form

longitudinal section

the cicada’s song This interest on studying the translation between music and architecture began early on with the Exoskeleton project, focusing on the theme of Extruded Form. The idea for the exercise revolved around investigating the essence of form as architecture, centering around the idea that “the form of an object is a ‘diagram of forces’”1. In short, form and function should be seen as a single notion or idea, one should not have to follow the other, but affect one another simultaneously. This project was a process-oriented exercise, and would include design for form, program, and site. Beginning with the selection of an arthropod, its exoskeleton would be studied, revealing the form of the creature and the forces of its existence. The following steps included several iterations of sculptures capturing the essence of the insect’s form, leading into a structural system based on a section of the final sculptural iteration. Once a structural form had been selected, program and site are then carefully selected to reflect the form, resulting in a final architectural statement. fig. 1 1 R.E. Snodgrass. Principles of Insect Morphology. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., 1935.

Using the exoske

ated by sculpture

up the segmented

At the start of the project, I had initially chosen the Cicada as my insect of study. The reason was due to the common nature of Cicadas found in the midwest, the interesting buzzing sound or song they sing every evening, as well as the molted exoskeleton left behind on the barks of trees. Using the exoskeleton as a concept, my first form generated by sculpture utilized recycled plastic bottles to build up the segmented outer shell of the cicada. The notion that cicadas leave behind something that is disposable, yet we could find interesting and fascinating was the reasoning behind using plastic bottles. The next iteration utilized the recycled plastic bottles, but was a more accurate representation of the cicada. Using three different cicada sculptures attached to a vent duct, this created the full sculpture of cicadas on a tree. clockwise from top left: fig. 2, fig. 3, 1st cicada sculpture iteration, 2nd iteration a, 2nd iteration b, 2nd iteration c

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Using Using threethree diﬀeren diﬀ

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section through 2nd cicada sculpture iteration

The next step focused on form generated by structure. By taking a section through the sculpture, a rendering of the product was created, showing how the form is built up through the use of the materials and space. By studying the sectional properties of the last sculpture, certain aspects were taken and emphasized in order to create a form based primarily on structure. This study was used as a basis for a structural form that would potentially be utilized for a repetitive structural framing. structural form sketches

1st structural form iteration

The next step focused on form generated by structure. By taking a section through the sculpture, a rendering The next step focused on form generated by structure. By taking of the product was created, showing how the form is built up through the use of the materials and space. By of the product was created, showing how the form is built up thr studying the sectional properties of the last sculpture, certain aspects were taken and abstracted in order to studying the sectional properties of the last sculpture, certain as create a form based primarily on structure. This study was used as a basis for a structural form that would create a form based primarily on structure. This study was used potentially be utilized for a repetitive structural framing. potentially be utilized for a repetitive structural framing.

final structural form iteration

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Throughout history, architecture has provided us with many different buildings designed with the sole purpose of musical performance and music making. For example, cathedrals and concert halls have been designed with precise details and specifications in order to create the best possible conditions in which to experience music in. Often, this, the function, dictates the culmination of the forms and spaces of the design However, in the cicadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s song, form does not follow function, and function does not follow form, instead, the two elements are cyclical, informing one another. Throughout the semester, we have been designing with the notion that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Form is, essentially, a diagram of the forces that create it.â&#x20AC;? Starting with the form generated by sculpture and structure, the purpose of the design was then decided, based on what the form communicated. The next step is to now refine the design in order to specifically meet the needs and requirements of the proposed program.

By using the form generated in the previous task, the objective was to design “the cicada’s song”, an architectural statement that plays with the notion that music does not need to be seen in order to be experienced, and needs only to be heard. Essentially a music hall, “the cicada’s song” will require a performance space, as well as an audience space. In order to convey the original idea, the spaces need to be disconnected visually, but connected acoustically. This separation is to keep the performers hidden from the audience’s sight, relying only on sound to perceive the music. This non-traditional way of experiencing music manipulates the audience’s senses, giving them no visual focus to accompany with the music. The task then, was to answer the question “what is the focus, when there is no focus?” The building must be able to fill the void of sight with some type of visual focus in which the audience member may be able to then concentrate and blend their senses together, creating a new and interesting type of experience. The building must also be able to perform as a musical instrument on its own, using the characteristics of the site as an aid.

right: early sketch of cicada’s song

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Additional supplementary spaces to the performance space and the audience seating will include; public spaces for the main public entry and lobby, ticketing and information booth, coat room, washrooms, and space for circulation. Semi-private areas open to the public for business opportunities include a director’s office and staff offices. The musicians’ areas, in addition to the performance space will include a back stage tech room to prepare musicians, green room for relaxing when not on stage , storage, special entry for the musicians, as well as circulation. The total net area of the building shall be 11000 square feet.

transverse section

public areas public entry lobby ticket/info booth coat room bar washrooms audience seating circulation semi-private areas director’s office staff offices musicians areas performance space backstage tech room storage green room performance entry circulation

longitudinal section

500 sf 200 sf 100 sf 300 sf per code 300 seats varied 6500 sf 200 sf 400 sf 600 sf 1500-2500 sf 200 sf 300 sf 200 sf 250 sf varied 3000 sf

1st floor plan

2nd floor plan

“The cicada’s song” will be situated in Chicago, Illinois, specifically in Grant Park, at the Southwest corner of Jackson dr. and Columbus dr., and North of the Lincoln statue. The building is also placed along axis with notable designs from renowned architects Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano; the Pritzker Pavilion and the Art institute of Chicago respectively. The orientation of the building will take into consideration wind direction as well as the sun paths for the specific location. The current vegetation will be kept untouched as best as possible in order to buffer noise from the city, as well as keep as much sound coming from the building within the vicinity. The vegetation may also serve as a visual focus from within the building, looking out to the natural landscaping, rather than the surrounding buildings.

“The cicada’s song” w

of Jackson dr. and Co

axis with notable desi

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consideration wind di

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as keep as much soun

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the surrounding build

“The “Thecicada’s cicada’ssong” song”will willbe besituated situatedininChicago, Chicago,Illinois, Illinois,specifically specificallyininGrant GrantPark, Park,at atthe theSouthwest Southwest of ofJackson Jacksondr. dr.and andColumbus Columbusdr., dr.,and andNorth Northof ofthe theLincoln Lincolnstatue. statue. The Thebuilding buildingisisalso alsoplaced placedalong along axis axiswith withnotable notabledesigns designsfrom fromrenowned renownedarchitects architectsFrank FrankGehry Gehryand andRenzo RenzoPiano; Piano;the thePritzker Pritzker Pavilion Pavilionand andthe theArt Artinstitute instituteof ofChicago Chicagorespectively. respectively. The Theorientation orientationof ofthe thebuilding buildingwill willtake takeinto into consideration considerationwind winddirection directionas aswell wellas asthe thesun sunpaths pathsfor forthe thespecific specificlocation. location. The Thecurrent current vegetation vegetationwill willbe bekept keptuntouched untouchedas asbest bestas aspossible possibleininorder orderto tobuffer buffernoise noisefrom fromthe thecity, city,as aswell well

“The cicada’s song” will be situated in Chicago, Illino

as askeep keepas asmuch muchsound soundcoming comingfrom fromthe thebuilding buildingwithin withinthe thevicinity. vicinity. The Thevegetation vegetationmay mayalso also

serve serveas asaavisual visualfocus focusfrom fromwithin withinthe thebuilding, building, looking out outto tothe thenatural natural landscaping,rather rather than than oflooking Jackson dr. and landscaping, Columbus dr., and the thesurrounding surroundingbuildings. buildings.

North of the Li

axis with notable designs from renowned architects

Pavilion and the Art institute of Chicago respectively

fig. 4

January, Chicago, ILIL January, Chicago, January, Chicago, IL

fig. 5

July, July, Chicago, Chicago, IL July, Chicago, IL

fig. 6

January, Chicago, January, IL Chicago, IL

July, Chicago, July, IL Chicago, IL

site plan

first floor plan

second floor plan final floor plans

second floor plan

longitudinal section

transverse section

south elevation

west elevation

final sections and elevations

exterior perspective

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architecture is a science, arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning: by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts.â&#x20AC;? Vitruvius

music and architecture a translation

fig. 7

fig. 9

fig. 8

thesis Vitruvius states the previous quote in his first book, De Architectura, Book I, referring to the architect’s grasp on the interdisciplinary nature of the science of Architecture. By gaining a basic understanding of a different discipline outside the realm of architecture, the architect will have expanded their knowledge acquiring new skills which they can then incorporate into their designs. “The cicada’s song” became my first real attempt at investigating the notion that there are many correlations between Architecture and Music, and both could potentially be utilized in a design which compliments both disciplines into a seamless composition, creating an experience where both music and architecture are perceived simultaneously through sound and space. However, this notion of making connections between the disciplines of music and architecture is nothing new to the architectural community. These two elements have often been compared to as far back as 1802, when the German philosopher, Friedrich Willhelm Joseph Schelling first coined the phrase, “Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music.” and several years later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “I call Architecture Frozen Music.”

Since then, the topic on the translation between architecture and music has often been debated by scholars, theorists, and philosophers alike, with countless variations of opinion on thoughts, ideas, and points of views about the subject. From past research on the previous exercise, we have already gained a basic understanding on the comparative commonalities found in Music and Architecture. Obvious elements such as rhythm, movement, harmony, or tension all coincide within both Music and Architecture, however, the question is not how to compare, “but what unmarked routes to investigate and what experiments to perform”1 in order to understand a translation between the two disciplines. I believe Louis Kahn said it best when he described great architecture as “that which starts with the immeasurable, proceeds through the measurable, and returns to the immeasurable.” There is another layer of understanding between the two disciplines which cannot be measured or repeated and this is the the experience. The way a musical composition or architectural design makes us feel is an immeasurable aspect of Music and Architecture. This aspect has rarely been fully understood when comparing the two disciplines, and is what sets the two apart from other sciences. 26

1 Martin, Elizabeth. Architecture as a Translation of Music. New York: Princeton Architectural, 1994. p. 30. Print.

architecture and music

fig. 10

fig. 11

fig. 12

fig. 13

That being said, the theoretical analysis in question, developed within the framework of my thesis, and basis of research for The Chicago Jazz Center is, “How can the translation between music and architecture be used as a tool to articulate the experience of sound and space.” Simply put, how can music and sound drive an architectural design. The primary goals for designing the Chicago Jazz Center was augmented with the purpose of designing an architectural composition that is driven by music and space, in a holistic manner, in order to emphasize the user’s aural perception and experience of space. The Jazz Center’s users will be presented with a complete experience of both aural and visual perceptions of space. Using the music hall as an institution in which to apply this theory, music and sound will be present in the decision-making of nearly every aspect in the design of The Chicago Jazz Center.

That being said, I have prepared two inquiries which will help to produce a design which best represents the translation between music and architecture, “How can music generate form?” and the inverse, “How can form generate music?” Seemingly similar in wordplay, the two notions couldn’t be more different. When I say, “How can music generate form?” I mean what are the different approaches in which music and sound can directly articulate the three-dimensional spaces within frozen music, paraphrasing Bernhard Leitner’s quote, “designed with precision, sound becomes a building material in the creation of space.” Starting with the most obvious solution, approaching “music generating form” by literally interpreting a musical composition to create three dimensional forms. By listening to music, experiencing it first hand, we can understand that certain compositions can evoke different emotions or feelings to those who experience it, based on properties such as tempo, rhythm, harmony, movement, etc. These properties can then inspire us as we begin to visualize the music in a three-dimensional setting, assigning specific architectural elements and forms to ideas and concepts generated from the composition. 30

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sound is no longer exclusively the instrument of musical expression; designed with precision, it becomes a building material in the creation of space.â&#x20AC;? Bernhard Leitner

An example of this idea is best represented with Steven Holl’s Stretto House. In his design, Steven Holl uses Bela Bartok’s “Music for Strings Percussion and Celeste” as a basis for his design. By taking specific aspects and characteristics of the song, Steven Holl translates those ideas from the musical composition into his final design. Music will also generate form in The Chicago Jazz Center by designing the spaces which best compliment the acoustic properties according to the function of the space. Depending on how sound will play in the space, will be reflected by the size, shape, and other characteristics of the space. The occupants and users of the space will greatly influence this, based on how they will experience sound in the space. For example, churches and cathedrals have been known to be designed specifically for sacred music, with the intent of echoing the voice. The forms created to direct the sound throughout those spaces have been used repeatedly throughout history, even today, in due part to the meticulous planning and designing in order to best compliment the function of the space. The study of sound and its properties will be of great importance when learning how to apply different acoustic techniques that will affect form. 32

Steven Holl’s “Stretto

Bela Bartok’s ”Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste”

“present the occupant with a complete experience of both aural and visual perceptions of space.” 33

When I say, “How can form generate music?” I mean, in what ways can the three dimensional aspects of designing space and form affect the projection of sound in The Chicago Jazz Center, where we have a whole other set of solutions as to how to approach this question. For the first solution, like “music generating form,” we again start with the literal interpretation of the question, a form that generates music. So, not only will music be played within the concert hall of The Chicago Jazz Center, but The Chicago Jazz Center will have the ability to play music itself, with the aid of careful planning and design in order to create an architectural composition which has the ability to utilize the characteristics of the surrounding site of Chicago, i.e. lake, wind, city, cars, people, trees, etc, to “play” the soundscape of the city. Like jazz, city sounds are always different, almost improvisational. These “sounds” will be heard outside of The Chicago Jazz Center, as well as within the spaces of the concert hall. An example of this would be Bernhard Leitner’s “Le Cylindre Sonore”. In this design, there is a double cylindrical form that emits sound, allowing the user to be fully immersed within the ambient sound. In this particular case, the focus is on the experience of the sound. Other examples of form generating sound include Luke Jerram’s Aeolus and The Singing Ringing Tree by Mike Tonkin and Anna Liv. 34

fig. 14

Mike Mike Tonkin Tonkin and and Anna Anna Liu’s Liu’s (Tonkin (Tonkin Liu) Liu) “Singing “Singing Ringing Ringing Tree” Tree”

fig. 15

Luke Luke Jerram’s Jerram’s “Aeolus” “Aeolus”

Form may also generate music simply by sound informing us about the space. From sound, we can learn the volume of a space, the materials, the form, etc. All this information can generate different sounds, depending on what is being used and how it is being used. By simply listening to the sound, we can almost visualize the space without necessarily seeing it. Additionally, form will generate music by designing in a way that makes use of the ambient sound or silence, creating an environment that allows the occupant to really experience the space through the aural perception, such as utilizing echoes, footsteps, or simply the ambient silence of the space. Because we are dealing with architecture, the visual sense will be a major aspect in â&#x20AC;&#x153;form generating music.â&#x20AC;? To the viewers eye, the forms created by the design should begin to be able to visualize music emerging from the forms, based on the movement of space, the rhythm, harmony, contrasts, tensions, repetition, etc. of The Chicago Jazz Center.

fig. 16

the chicago jazz center the program

the music hall The institution of the music hall, as a basis to formulate a thesis of study and investigation, was the product of how to define this idea from the viewpoint of an architect, that is, an architectural element which houses the cultural performance of music. From that, we can see the associations between the two separate disciplines of study; Music and Architecture. Using this notion as a point of departure, the focus then becomes on the experiential aspect of the two ideas, that being the perception of sound and space.

the experience of music

fig. 17

fig. 18

fig. 19

chicago jazz Chicago has a very important place in music history, playing a major role influencing the performance, recording, and artistic evolution of jazz. As the largest, noncoastal city in the United States, Chicago became an important center for music in the Midwest, especially for jazz. The biggest turning point in its history had to have came in the early 1900â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s during the Great Migration, when millions of African Americans from the South migrated Northward to cities like Chicago, primarily from larger, overpopulated cities such as New Orleans. However, no one could have predicted that those migrating from the South would bring with them a new form of music originating from the port city of Louisiana. The introduction of jazz in Chicago brought about the demand and creation of a number of cafes, cabarets, restaurants, speakeasies, and bars, and with that, a new mind set that sought to break down the walls of conformity and a rise in what we would see, today, as Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highly unique and diverse culture.

fig. 20

fig. 21

right: fig. 22

fig. 24

fig. 25

left: fig. 23

Unfortunately, the current state of Chicago Jazz is not the same as it was nearly a century ago, having lost its popularity among the large variety of musical genres emerging within the city. Striving to retain its identity as a major staple in shaping Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very own culture, many efforts have been taken in order to preserve and educate Chicago Jazz primarily from the Jazz Institute of Chicago, contributing events such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, a widely known, annual four-day musicconcert-series within Grant Park, dedicated to Chicago Jazz. Additionally, the city also provides many venues in the form of local bars and clubs where Chicago Jazz could be experienced, as well as Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary venue for large Jazz concerts, the Chicago Cultural Center, whose design is, unfortunately, not necessarily conducive to the acoustic demands of jazz music. However, the city of Chicago has yet to implement a plan to develop a permanent center or venue dedicated to Chicago Jazz. With cities like New York and its Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as New Orleansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current plan to design and develop the National Jazz Center and Park, Chicago seemed to be falling behind in their efforts to really stake their claim within the development and evolution of Jazz music. 45

programming diagram

Programmatic Requirements Front of House 3.1 Lobby/Public Entry 3.2 Ticket Office 3.3 Front Private Office 3.4 Coat Room 3.5-6 Men’s and Women’s WC

+-1,000 sf 200 sf 120 sf 350 sf 600 sf

Jazz Halls 3.7 Jazz Club 1 Cafe 3.8 Jazz Club 2 Club 3.9 Main Jazz Concert Hall

1,000 sf 2,000 sf 4,000 sf

Recording Studio 3.10 Studio Lounge 3.11 Recording Room 3.12 Sound Booth 3.13 Control Room

150 sf 700 sf 150 sf 250 sf

Back of House 3.10 Green Room 3.11-12 Dressing Room/WCs 3.14 Storage 3.15 Control Room

200 sf 500 sf 400 sf 150 sf

Administration 3.16-17 Private Offices 3.18-21 Open Offices (6) 3.22 Conference Room 3.23 Staff Lounge

120 sf 260 sf 300 sf 350 sf

Support 3.24 Building Mechanical 3.25 Maintenance Utility

1,000 sf 200 sf

Circulation Total

5,000 sf +-19,000 sf

THE CHICAGO JAZZ CENTER siegfried ﬂores

ARCH 807 + ARCh 715

Spring 2012



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Wabash Ave





annual CTA ridership report

<http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2010-Annual.pdf>

50,000

6,000

Major Highways

10,00

3,000

CTA Train Route

The Chicago Jazz Center will be an institution for jazz in Chicago located diagonally across from the Petrillo Music Shell, at the Southwest corner of Jackson Drive. and Columbus Drive. Chicago's land use has the site situated between Lake Michigan to the East and downtown Chicago to the West. The site will most likely be approached by foot from the nearest CTA station located just ¼ of a mile away at Wabash and Adams St. It can also be reached by taxi, bus, car, bike, etc, from any of the major streets that surround the area. The nearby cultural venues will also help to bring in pedestrian traffic to the site, using the numerous paths and walkways throughout the park. The site is located along a linear axis along with Frank Gehry's Pritzker Pavilion and Renzo Piano's Art Institute of Chicago, sitting just South of the Art Institute. Grant Park is relevant to the thesis because of its diversity of sounds impacting on the site. The site receives sounds from Lake Michigan, the park itself, as well as downtown Chicago. Surrounding sound or “soundscape” such as wind, trees, cars, people, the lake, and the city, will also be a major factor, affecting the instrumental aspect of The Chicago Jazz Center. Jazz music is known to be improvisational, so it never sounds the same. The “soundscape” within Chicago can also be considered improvisational because it too, is always different. These different surrounding sounds contribute to the overall “music” of the city of Chicago. The site is currently an open park space, surrounded by trees, planned for development according to the Chicago Department of Zoning. An effort to keep the current natural landscape such as trees and topography, will be attempted so as not to disturb the open park aspect currently associated with the site. Additionally, working with the site's adjacencies must be addressed in order to create a successful integration into the park.

W M Co La Ra

Wind/Veg

the chicago jazz center

W Su





the site 

Randolph St

Adams St

Jackson Dr

Jackson Blvd

“(a) Negotiation between anticipated and unanticipated phenomena and a play of the familiar within processes of tradition/repetition and change.”1 Congress Pkwy

Congress Plaza Dr

Van Buren St

Congress Dr

Lake Shore Dr

Columbus Dr

Adams St

Jackson Dr

Jackson Blvd

Van Buren St

Congress Pkwy

Congress Dr

9th St

11th St

Roosevelt Dr

Lake Shore Dr

Roosevelt Dr

Roosevelt Rd

Soundscape quiet oﬃce 40

quiet average conversation conversation 45

average personal stereo

vacuum cleaner 70

noise levels calculated in decibels (dB) <http://resource.npl.co.uk/acoustics/techguides/crtn/.>

Congress Pkwy 1696 Columbus Dr 1333 Balbo Dr 458 Min1 Brown, David. Orders: Jazz, and Architecture. Lake Shore Noise Dr 6883 Improvisation, Roosevelt Dr 1458 Randolph St 829

neapolis: University of Minnesota, 2006. Print.

Wind/Vegetation

Columbus Dr

8th St

Balbo Dr

Michigan Ave

Lake Shore Dr

Balbo Ave

9th St

Roosevelt Rd

Balbo Dr

Columbus Dr

Wabash Ave

Michigan Ave

With that in consideration, the site chosen reflects this phenomena in relation to its unique soundscape. Grant Park is situated between Lake Michigan to the East, and Downtown Chicago to the West. The site forces contributed by the surrounding landscape is a blend of different sounds which is ever changing, provided from the city’s people, the sound of cars rolling through the street, the wind blowing through the park’s trees, Lake Michigan’s rolling tides, or from the train cars in the sunken railroad tracks of the McCormick Busway. We can simply call this “The Traffic Density & Proximities <http://data.cityofchicago.org/Transportation/Average-Daily-Traffic-Counts-Map/pf56-35rv> Improvisation of the city of Chicago.” This idea street vehicles street vehicles hour per hour of the soundscapeperwould later be utilized in the Wabash Ave 454 Dr 563 development of the 1625 designMonroe thesis. Michigan Ave Jackson Dr 625 8th St

Monroe Dr

Harrison St

Balbo Ave

Monroe St

Michigan Ave

One of the most important characteristics of Jazz music is the notion of improvisation. Improvisation could be defined as:

Madison St

Congress Plaza Dr

Lake Shore Dr

Monroe Dr

Columbus Dr

Monroe St

Michigan Ave

Wabash Ave

Madison St

Randolph St

Washington St

Wabash Ave

Washington St

Field Blvd

Stetson Lower Ave

Using Chicago Jazz music as the basis for our architectural design, the next step was to acquire a site in which to locate the Chicago Jazz Center. It was established that the site must reflect certain characteristics of Chicago Jazz in order to tie in the idea that the music will be present in nearly all of the decision-making aspects of the design.

Wabash Ave



Stetson Lower Ave

improvisation

Sun Path

heavy city traﬃc 85

Chicago Marathon

Lollapalooza

Grant Park Events

Views

Ground Land Use

Downtown Chicago Millennium/Grant Park

Lake Michigan/ Chicago River

Zoning

Planned Development

Business

Downtown Core

Parks and Open Space

itself, as well as downtown Chicago. Surrounding sound The Chicago Jazz Center will be an institution for jazz in Chicago located diagonally acros lake, and the city, will also be a major factor, affecting th Music Shell, at the Southwest corner of Jackson Drive. and Columbus Drive. Chicago's land u music is known to be improvisational, so it never sounds ated between Lake Michigan to the East and downtown Chicago to the West. The site be considered improvisational because it too, is always d approached by foot from the nearest CTA station located just ¼ of a mile away at Wabash an ute to the overall “music” of the city of Chicago. The site also be reached by taxi, bus, car, bike, etc, from any of the major streets that surround the planned for development according to the Chicago Depa cultural venues will also help to bring in pedestrian traffic to the site, using the numerous p ral landscape such as trees and topography, will be atte throughout the park. 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unds impacting on the site. The site receives sounds from Lake Michigan, the park Chicago. Surrounding sound or “soundscape” such as wind, trees, cars, people, the e a major factor, affecting the instrumental aspect of The Chicago Jazz Center. Jazz visational, so it never sounds the same. The “soundscape” within Chicago can also nal because it too, is always different. These different surrounding sounds contribf the city of Chicago. The site is currently an open park space, surrounded by trees, cording to the Chicago Department of Zoning. An effort to keep the current natuand topography, will be attempted so as not to disturb the open park aspect curte. Additionally, working with the site's adjacencies must be addressed in order to on into the park.

create a successful into thesounds park. from Lake Michigan, the park because of its diversity of sounds impacting on the site.integration The site receives itself, as well as downtown Chicago. Surrounding sound or “soundscape” such as wind, trees, cars, people, the lake, and the city, will also be a major factor, affecting the instrumental aspect of The Chicago Jazz Center. Jazz music is known to be improvisational, so it never sounds the same. The “soundscape” within Chicago can also be considered improvisational because it too, is always different. These different surrounding sounds contribute to the overall “music” of the city of Chicago. The site is currently an open park space, surrounded by trees, planned for development according to the Chicago Department of Zoning. An effort to keep the current natural landscape such as trees and topography, will be attempted so as not to disturb the open park aspect curTaste of Chicago Jazz Festival rently associated with the site. Additionally, working with the site's adjacencies must be addressed in order to create a successful integration into the park.

Jazz Festival

Grant Park Music Festival

JazzViews Festival

Taste of Chicago

Grant Park Music Festival

Blues Festival

Taste of Chicago

Grant Park Music Festival

Blues Festival

Chicago Marathon

Blues Festival

Chicago Marathon

Lollapalooza

Grant Park Events

Taste of Chicago

Grant Park Music Festival

Blues Festival

Chicago Marathon

Lollapalooza

Grant Park Events

Ground Figure

Figure Ground

Massing Studies

Cont

Pritzker Pavilion -Frank Gehry

Art Institute of Chicago -Renzo Piano

Additionally, the site also contains many other characteristics, further establishing it as the correct solution for the location of the Chicago Jazz Center. Grant Park is home to many of Chicago’s events and venues, for both local residents as well as traveling tourists. These events housed by the park include the Jazz Festival, Taste of Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival, Blues Festival, the Chicago Marathon, and Lollapalooza, a majority of which are specific to the music of Chicago. The actual plot in which the site is located is at the Northeast corner of Jackson and Columbus Drive, in axis with such architectural achievements as Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion, and Renzo Piano’s addition to the Art Institute of Chicago, both located directly North of the site. Directly Northeast of the site, diagonally across the street, is the Petrillo Music Shell, interestingly enough, the main venue for the Chicago Jazz Festival, further supporting the site selection. Additionally, the site makes use of its close proximity to a public transit station of the El Train with a walking distance of just one-quarter of a mile, connecting people from across the city directly to the site.

Continued Axis

the chicago jazz center concepts

early conceptual sketches

ideas From the start of the project, there has been several repeating motifs and ideas which remained constant throughout the project. These ideas included, the notion of creating an underground atmosphere, relative to the performance of jazz music, the transformation of the design to be an urban instrument for sound, creating a procession of spaces focused on different levels of aural perception, the notion that Chicago Jazz would be present in every aspect of the design, and the notion of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;jazz streetâ&#x20AC;?. Each of these ideas presented themselves at different phases of the project, starting at the parti analysis, then to conceptualization, leading into schematic design, and finally into the final realization of the Chicago Jazz Center.

early concept models

parti analysis At the first phase of design of the project, the focus was on the site analysis and planning, and how we reacted with the “parti” analysis and design. The “parti” was defined as the essence of an architectural plan. The primary issue to focused on were “How does the concept manifest the thesis?” and “How does the form emerge from the site?” At this level of design, multiple studies of diagrams of the parti in relation to the site had been conducted, focusing primarily on the site conditions and the program, and how the two relate to one another on the site. Each parti iteration required, to an extent, program, circulation, enclosure, entry, structure, and site,

The primary site issues concerned with the parti design focused on utilizing the soundscape of the site as the instrumental aspect of the design. By selecting specific sound points and directing them toward the site, the idea was to concentrate each specific sound, creating corridors in which the sound could travel. These corridors then created different spaces in which to divide and contain the program. What I learned from this phase of design was a need for further development of the design. For one, the current design remained within the confines of a box. The design had the potential to break out of the box, and engage more of the park, which was another point of development, integrating more of the park. Additionally, further research was required on how sound really works in order to better capture and utilize the different sounds of the soundscape. This would then directly inform and articulate the forms of the design. The forms could then dictate the experience of the spaces, which needed to be more informal or intimate, as a way to reflect aspects of Chicago Jazz, as well as begin to create a hierarchy of spaces.

parti phase site plan

Floor Plan

1/16”=1’-0”

Section A

1/16”=1’-0”

Section B

1/16”=1’-0”

conceptualization Leading into this phase of the project, much consideration had been put into developing the parti analysis further. At this phase, the main focuses were placed on developing a hierarchy of spaces in which to organize the program, again, utilizing the soundscape to inform the instrumental aspect of the design, and site integration. In keeping the idea of using sound points to carve out spaces within the building, it was realized that the spaces would begin to organize the program into the five main elements, Front of House, Back of House, Performance, Administration, and Support. Additionally, this idea developed into seeing each piece as an instrument with a specific programmatic function, seeing the whole as a musical ensemble, reinforcing the idea of music and architecture. Site integration was then developed by creating two different levels of corridors carved by the sound points. An exterior corridor space acting as a sound plaza, and an interior corridor space acting as circulation for the Jazz Center. This was the first iteration which began to play with the idea of an underground complex.

The notion of the two sound corridors then lead to the development of the experience through the complex. The idea was that of a procession, from when you enter the site to when you further enter the building, there would be an experience of sound that changes between the two. Starting with the exterior corridor, you would experience the exterior city soundscape, which would be accentuated by the form of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exterior, amplifying and focusing each sound for the listener. Proceeding into the building, would be the interior corridors. Here, the focus is placed on the sound of the spaces themselves, primary emphasizing the function of each of the spaces. No external source of sound would be affected at this level, rather the activities which would occur within those spaces will dictate how sound will be perceived.

exterior corridor sketch

interior corridor sketch

formal analysis of corridors

Exterior Corridor

Exterior Corridor Interior Corridor

Interior Corridor

Interior Corridor Individual “Instruments”

Individual “Instruments”

schematic design What was learned from the previous iteration propelled me into the next phase of the project. In the conceptualization stage, what I needed to begin thinking about was how to make the design into an actual architectural project. This included focusing on things such as circulation, egress, as well as how the building actually works as far as incorporating techniques in acoustic design. Up until this point, the project had been mostly focused on the ideas and concepts, and how they play into the notion of a jazz hall dedicated to Chicago Jazz. Going into the schematic design phase, the ideas which I had established as important aspects of the project included; utilizing the soundscape for the instrumental aspect of the project, seeing the building as separate elements or “instruments”, making up an ensemble of forms each with a specific function and acoustic properties, as well as creating three different sound zones of aural experience, the exterior corridor, interior corridors, and the “instruments”. What needed to be worked out was the exterior forms so that channelling of the soundscape could be successful.

fig. 26

I started off this stage by looking at the formal strategies in order to absorb and dampen urban noise and transmit them to the listener. The main notion was to filter the urban noise pollution into serene sounds which city dwellers wish to hear. Techniques involved the incorporation of sound mirrors used during WWI as early forms of radar. These forms seemed to accomplish exactly what I was trying to do, as it focused sounds and amplified them into a specific area. The next step was developing how these forms would be articulated between what was above ground and what was below ground. The main idea was that these would be seen as two separate elements. Above would be heavily sculptural, whereas, below would be more programmatic, focusing on the spaces. These two different levels would play on each other as far as where the spaces would pop out of the ground, however, the actual spaces themselves would not be reflected by the forms themselves.

In order to further realize the project, a series of diagrams charted exactly how the forms and spaces were developed in the style of Geoffrey Baker to analyze and justify each step in the process. The formal analysis began with the site plan, placing five rectangular cubes on the site, each representing a different programmatic element. The next step was to sink these elements underground, creating a circulation space that occurs between each of the elements. Circulation was then developed, both to get down into the underground spaces, as well as how to enter the above exterior spaces. Finally, the sculptural forms â&#x20AC;&#x153;cappedâ&#x20AC;? the elements, and were integrated with the exterior plaza, creating both the exterior spaces as well as the underground interior spaces.

The last move in finalizing the schematic design was the planning of the rooms and spaces in relation to the programmatic requirements. This step took into consideration the acoustic properties of the spaces, as well as the aural experience and perception of those spaces. Each space had a specific function, therefore, had a specific acoustic need or requirement. For instance, the performance spaces required acoustic strategies in order to get the best jazz experience, focusing on getting direct sound from the instruments and musicians themselves rather than trying to redirect the sound with the use of echoes or reverberation, or that the main circulation space focused on amplifying sounds of the space by use of echoes, a large volume, and reflective materials.

1st floor schematic plan

2nd floor schematic plan

last iteration The biggest realization occured to me after completing the schematic design phase. It was at this point, that the direction in which my design was headed had strayed far away from my original intent of designing specifically for Chicago Jazz. The primary critiques attached to the schematic design focused on the detachment from Chicago Jazz, spaces were very large and open, which did not reflect the underground intimacy of the original idea, and the idea of trying to articulate the forms above ground with the spaces below became too complex to try and fully understand and develop that aspect of the design. With the last iteration, the design went through major alterations, revisiting the original notion of the jazz hall. To start off the new design, I made the decision to completely bury the complex underground, basically flipping the original idea of the complex being half-buried and half-above ground. This completely separates the two levels, below and above, with the notion that whatever happens above ground and below ground are disconnected from each other to en extent, simplifying the design.

This decision was dictated primarily by the site selection. Being in the heart of Grant Park, the notion of an open and public park space was to be preserved, which was accomplished by keeping the above park surface clear of any real structure pertaining to the building itself, literally burying the Jazz Center beneath the site. This design decision was further supported with the Montgomery Ward Height Restriction Act, restricting any structure over thirty feet from being built within Grant Park. Additionally, by placing the Chicago Jazz Center underground, it created a sense of intimacy within the complex, apparent in the tight, dimly lit spaces often associated with underground architecture. This feeling of intimacy helped to further expand on this connection between Jazz and the design of the Chicago Jazz Center, reminiscent of the Jazz clubs, cabarets, and speakeasies of the 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

In order to completely understand the moves which I was making, another study of a series of diagrams based on Geoffrey Baker were implemented. Starting with a solid form, the rectangular cube was selected in relation to the current site conditions of the street and other adjacencies. The form was then set back in order to allow for a public entry space to occur off the street and bring in pedestrians and vehicles onto the site. Next, the entire form was sunk completely underground, opening the entire space above the site to be designed separately from the underground complex. Entry into the underground complex was then incorporated with a stair that leads down into the space, additionally the site above ground was articulated to account for the heights of spaces which occurred below.

The idea to continue the stair as a corridor which continues through the complex then presented itself, introducing the notion of the “street”. This idea had basically originated out of the experience one might have had in the Jazz Era of the 1920’s walking down the street lined with Jazz clubs and impromptu performances of musicians on the street. This notion of the street lent itself to designing a single circulation corridor, entering from one end, and exiting through the other, with the programmatic elements of the Jazz Center located on either side of the “street”. This “street” would draw you off the sidewalk above, as you descend down into the “Underground Jazz Hall.” Several new iterations had been proposed before the final design was decided. These iterations focused primarily on the single circulation corridor with the spaces occurring on each side of the space. Starting with a linear axis, the corridor would eventually transform into a space which curves and bends, creating a sinuous, free-flowing corridor which weaves around the adjacent spatial elements.

fig. 27

fig. 28

the chicago jazz center final design

At the heart of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, one might find themselves meandering through a collection of winding glass walls, navigating around its bends and curves, all the while, listening to the concentrated symphony of sounds generated by the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own environmental soundscape. However, directly beneath this sound sculpture garden is a completely different environment, emitting a different type of sound. Descending down a winding staircase, entering into a dimly lit corridor, you begin to hear the fast paced, swinging, rhythm of Chicago Jazz. This is the Chicago Jazz Center, a 19,000 square foot underground jazz hall, designed with the sole purpose of enhancing the visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of Chicago Jazz. During the development of the final design, I began to fully understand how sound will play into the experience of the Chicago Jazz Center. The notion was that from the moment the visitor enters the site, to the point at which they leave the complex, they will have been exposed to an experience in which to understand sound and how it affects our perception of the surrounding environment. The emphasis was placed on three different soundscape zones in the experience of aural perception; sound, silence, and music. 100

right: exterior rendering

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Site Plan

1:1000

The first of these zones begins above in the park level of the site. Upon entering the site, one has already been accustomed to the soundscape of the exterior environment of Chicago. This zone we shall call the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Found Soundscapeâ&#x20AC;?. The sounds exposed to this zone are not controlled or organized in any way, and occur in a very natural manner. This is just one aspect of how we experience the aural perception. By understanding this level of sound in our environment, we can learn about its diversity, how we react to the different sounds, and gain a better appreciation for the unique sounds which make up the true essence of the city, seeing it more than just unwanted noise.

Aerial Site View

left: site plan above: exploded axonometric, site axonometric

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Located above ground , the Found Soundscape is, essentially, a sound sculpture park in order to keep consistent with the notion of the public open park space. The sculptures found here are designed with the sole purpose of accentuating specific sounds found within the exterior soundscape. Each piece functions as a curving channel glass wall focusing and amplifying each sound to the visitors as they weave through the sinuous paths carved by the sculptures. Straight direct pathways cut through the site as well as the sculptures and are a direct abstraction of the complex’s floor plan. This notion of the straight lines of the pathways intersecting the curving sound sculptures is a loose portrayal of the characteristics of how jazz music is played, the constant steady beat, keeping the foundation of the song, being used as a point of reference for the free flowing improvisational aspect of jazz being played throughout the music from start to end, without any real rhyme or reason, outside of the musicians own intuition and representation of the music. After experiencing the Found Soundscape zone, the descent down into the Jazz Center brings you to the next level of aural perception, the “Designed Soundscape” zone. 104

west elevation

north elevation

south elevation

east elevation

105

The Designed Soundscape is contained within the â&#x20AC;&#x153;streetâ&#x20AC;? component of the Chicago Jazz Center. At this level, in contrast to the Found Soundscape, the focus is on silence, to be more specific, the sounds of the spaces themselves, and how sound interacts with those spaces. When we hear sound, they are, more often than not, accentuated by the spaces in which they occur in. Sound reacts to spaces in very unique ways, depending on the volume and form of the space, as well as the materials which make up the containment of the space. Additionally, it is possible to understand a space simply be listening to how sound reacts to the space. For instance, if you listen to a space that has a high amount of echo, it can be deduced that the space is very large and is faced with a highly sound reflective material such as concrete.

right: interior corridor perspective

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At the Designed Soundscape zone, there will be no external sources of sound other than the people within the space. Here, any sounds generated by the visitors from their voices, footsteps, etc, will be accentuated by the “street”. The form of the space is similar to that of a winding river with bends and curves, in order to aid in the reflection of the sounds, dispersing or focusing them at certain points of the walls. The low-slung ceiling will also help to keep the sound from reflecting too far off from its source, keeping the echoes from getting too out of hand. The materials will be highly reverberative, as concrete floors and ceiling, and a combination of different types of dense wood creating the curving walls of the street. Additionally, the street will act as the primary circulation corridor, with the entrance at one end, and the exit at the other, as well as access to all aspects of the program on either side of the space. These secondary spaces branching from the street will house last aspect of aural perception to be experienced by the visitor.

Lobby Floor Plan lobby floor plan 1/16”=1’-0”

East Lobby Wall Elevation 1/16”=1’-0”

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1/16”=1’-0”

east lobby wall elevation

west lobby wall elevation

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First Floor Plan 1/16”=1’-0”

110

North Elevation 1/16”=1’-0”

Basement Floor Plan 1/16”=1’-0”

At the final level, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Produced Soundscapeâ&#x20AC;? zone, sound will be represented by the actual jazz music performed within the Jazz hall spaces. There will be a total of three of these anechoic spaces, meaning, spaces which have little to no reverberation. The purpose of being an anechoic space is to accentuate on the characteristics of jazz music, being the ideal conditions in which to play jazz. Jazz is said to be best represented with very little echo or reflection of sound, focusing on the direct sound emitting from the instrument and musician. These spaces, a 1,000 square foot Jazz cafe, a 2,500 square foot Jazz club, and the main 4,000 square foot Jazz hall, will be focused on bringing the audience as close to the performer in order to get the best possible experience of jazz being played, with very little echo or reverberation, and emphasize on the direct acoustics emitting from the instruments. left: final design floor plans below: final sections

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jazz hall floor plans

112 Auditorium First Floor Plan 1/8”=1’-0”

Auditorium Seat Elevation 1/8”=1’-0”

Auditorium Section 1/8”=1’-0”

jazz hall section elevations

Auditorium Basement Floor Plan 1/8”=1’-0”

Jaz 1/8 z Clu ” = 1’- b #2 0 P ” lan

jazz cafe floor plan

No 1 rth / 8 ”= Wa 1 ’ -0” ll El

jazz cafe section elevations

Cl 1/8 ”

e v a ti

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At this point, the visitor will have been exposed to an experience in which to understand sound and how it affects their perception of the surrounding environment. They will have experienced sound, silence, and music, throughout the complex by the Found Soundscape zone, the Designed Soundscape zone, and the Produced Soundscape zone. As they leave the Chicago Jazz Center, the experiences they have encountered can be attributed to the careful planning and design of the complex, with a primary focus on the translation between music and architecture as a tool to articulate the experience sound and space.

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Through careful analysis of the Chicago Jazz Center, it is made apparent, the amount of research, study, and investigation of the topic of music and architecture, within the development of the complex. By incorporating this higher level of thought into the design, the Chicago Jazz Center rises above from a mere building, to a full experiential journey which answers the simple question, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can jazz music drive an architectural design?â&#x20AC;? By designing with the sole purpose of enhancing the visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of Chicago Jazz, the Chicago Jazz Center will be recognized as the permanent center and venue dedicated to Chicago Jazz, staking their claim within the development and evolution of Jazz music.

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bibliography Muecke, Mikesch W., and Miriam S. Zach. Essays on the Intersection of Music and Architecture. Ames: Culicidae Architectural, 2007. Print. Xenakis, Iannis, and Sharon E. Kanach. Music and Architecture: Architectural Projects, Texts, and Realizations. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon, 2008. Print. http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/cdot/dataset/average_daily_trafficcounts.html Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. The philosophy of art. 1845â&#x20AC;?Bernhard Leitner-Le Cylindre Sonoreâ&#x20AC;? Martin, Elizabeth. Architecture as a Translation of Music. New York: Princeton Architectural, 1994. p. 30. Print. Vitruvius, Pollio, and M. H. Morgan. Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture. New York: Dover Publications, 1960. Print. R.E. Snodgrass. Principles of Insect Morphology. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., 1935. Besser, Barry, and Linda-Ruth Salter. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?: Experiencing Aural Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2007. Print. Brown, David. Noise Orders: Jazz, Improvisation, and Architecture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2006. Print. Holl, Steven. Stretto House: Steven Holl Architects. New York: Monacelli, 1996. Print.

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figure sources 1 R.E. Snodgrass. Principles of Insect Morphology. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., 1935. 2 http://www.carolinanature.com/insects/cicada5090.jpg 3 http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/photos/new_zealand/images/cicada%20shell.jpg 4 http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=avnclimo 5 http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=avnclimo 6 http://www.gaisma.com/en/sunpath/chicago-illinois.png 7 http://nepr.net/sites/default/files/beethovenConducting.jpg 8 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gW59Bit3oW4/TnJJbLX-voI/AAAAAAAAAdE/vH45jhp3jQk/s1600/Beethoven_sym_6_ script.PNG 9 http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/8theuK4BgNs/hqdefault.jpg 10 http://onlyhdwallpapers.com/wallpaper/mam_calatrava_high_resolution_desktop_3216x2892wallpaer-228164. jpg 11 http://www.byrdensemble.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/sheet-music.jpeg 12 http://photoblossoms.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/05.jpg?w=720 13 http://learnhowtoplayviolin.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/learn-how-to-play-violin1.jpg 14 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Singing_Ringing_Tree_(Panopticons).jpg 15 http://zapp5.staticworld.net/images/article/2011/11/aeolus-5234255.jpg 16 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Expo58_building_Philips.jpg/220px-Expo58_ building_Philips.jpg 17 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fU7LdRkUMVM/TPQfMievUfI/AAAAAAAADKc/sIWUzlixyPg/s1600/ DisneyConcertHall.jpg 18 http://api.ning.com/files/V30xz8nt0AxO9Eq1GmDN41-g3J7PxOUtjs*4kDS5Fg0DhgXbb7fWahBmb5qph0MZQr6 wgNZc6Mq4EaRE3VLNl4--6BJTHCJ0/1.jpg 19 http://www.architecturezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Interior-Kauffman-Center-for-the-Performing- Arts.jpg 20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/whamlibrary/4326133620/ 21 http://messengermusic.pbworks.com/f/king%20oliveerr%20band2.jpg 22 22 http://tuxjunction.net/images/index.24.jpg 23 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/20070901_Chicago_Jazz_Festival_at_Petrillo_Music_ Shell.jpg 24 http://www.jazzchicago.net/images/Dec08/PattiA/7.jpg 25 http://www.csichicago.net/jazz_festival.jpg 26 http://www.karl-davies.talktalk.net/images/mirror32july2010.jpg 27 http://cdn.dailypainters.com/paintings/new_orleans_jazz_street_art_painting_by_debra_hurd_69b92f9568dc c6f594970223cec6df0e.jpg 28 http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschipul/4367175385/

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consolidated written component At the heart of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, one might find themselves meandering through a collection of winding glass walls, navigating around its bends and curves, all the while, listening to the concentrated symphony of sounds generated by the city’s own environmental soundscape. However, directly beneath this sound sculpture garden is a completely different environment, emitting a different type of sound. Descending down a winding staircase, entering into a dimly lit corridor, you begin to hear the fast paced, swinging, rhythm of Chicago Jazz. This is the Chicago Jazz Center, a 19,000 square foot underground jazz hall, designed with the sole purpose of enhancing the visitor’s experience of Chicago Jazz. Chicago has a very important place in music history, playing a major role influencing the performance, recording, and artistic evolution of jazz. As the largest, non-coastal city in the United States, Chicago became an important center for music in the Midwest, especially for jazz. The biggest turning point in its history had to have came in the early 1900’s during the Great Migration, when millions of African Americans from the South migrated Northward to cities like Chicago, primarily from larger, overpopulated cities such as New Orleans. However, no one could have predicted that those migrating from the South would bring with them a new form of music originating from the port city of Louisiana. The introduction of jazz in Chicago brought about the demand and creation of a number of cafes, cabarets, restaurants, speakeasies, and bars, and with that, a new mindset that sought to break down the walls of conformity and a rise in what we would see, today, as Chicago’s highly unique and diverse culture. Unfortunately, the current state of Chicago Jazz is not the same as it was nearly a century ago, having lost its popularity among the large variety of musical genres emerging within the city. Striving to retain its identity as a major staple in shaping Chicago’s very own culture, many efforts have been taken in order to preserve and educate Chicago Jazz primarily from the Jazz Institute of Chicago, contributing events such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, a widely known, annual four-day music-concert-series within Grant Park, dedicated to Chicago Jazz. Additionally, the city also provides many venues in the form of local bars and clubs where Chicago Jazz could be experienced, as well as Chicago’s primary venue for large Jazz concerts, the Chicago Cultural Center, whose design is, unfortunately, not necessarily conducive to the acoustic demands of jazz music. However, the city of Chicago has yet to implement a plan to develop a permanent center or venue dedicated to Chicago Jazz. With cities like New York and its Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as New Orleans’ current plan to design and develop the National Jazz Center and Park, Chicago seemed to be falling behind in their efforts to really stake their claim within the development and evolution of Jazz music.

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The solution to this problem came in the form of the Chicago Jazz Center. Dedicated to the performance, preservation, and education of Chicago Jazz, the Center would become a permanent venue and center for musicians, fans, as well as simply interested individuals alike, hoping to discover and experience the true essence of Chicago Jazz. Having such a high caliber of significance within the Jazz community as well as the city of Chicago, it was of extreme importance that the Chicago Jazz Center establish a strong presence among the city’s most notable institutions from an architectural stand point. Among the many architectural achievements scattered throughout the Windy City, the Chicago Jazz Center will have to show that it can be much more than that of a simple building in which Chicago Jazz would be played in. The center must display a higher level of knowledge and intellectuality above and beyond the requirements of the client’s given program, presenting its users with an experience that they may not have otherwise expected, stimulating their mind with thought-provoking interest. With that being said, it was apparent that there was a necessity to think much deeper on the subject of designing a Chicago Jazz Center with the sole purpose of enhancing the visitor’s experience of Chicago Jazz. During the planning and development phase of the project, the design began to evolve into a theoretical analysis on the subject at hand, the idea of the music hall. The institution of the music hall, as a basis to formulate a thesis of study and investigation, was the product of how to define this idea from the viewpoint of an architect, that is, an architectural element which houses the cultural performance of music. From that, we can see the associations between two separate disciplines of study; Music and Architecture. Using this notion as a point of departure, the focus then becomes on the experiential aspect of the two ideas, that being the perception of sound and space. It can easily be said that architecture has almost always been focused on the visual perception of a space. However, architecture, or at least good architecture, should have the ability to engage all of the senses, creating a unique way of experiencing space. Particularly focusing on the aural perception of architecture, it is equally as important to our spatial consciousness as the visual perception, however, has always been subordinate to the latter. The only time sound has really ever been taken into consideration with architecture is for acoustic design, for example, the neutralization of amplification of sound for spaces such as concert halls, or auditoriums. That being said, the Chicago Jazz Center developed into an experimental study that strives to focus on the correlations between sound or music and architecture, specifically asking the question, “How can the translation between music and architecture be used as a tool to articulate the experience of sound and space.”

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Eventually, the primary goals for designing the Chicago Jazz Center was augmented with the purpose of designing an architectural composition that is driven by music and space, in a holistic manner, in order to emphasize the user’s aural perception and experience of space. The Jazz Center’s users will be presented with a complete experience of both aural and visual perceptions of space. “Sound is no longer exclusively the instrument of musical expression, designed with precision, it becomes a building material in the creation of space.” However, this notion of making connections between the disciplines of music and architecture is nothing new to the architectural community. These two elements have often been compared to as far back as 1802, when the German philosopher, Friedrich Willhelm Joseph Schelling first coined the phrase, “Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music.”2 and several years later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “I call Architecture Frozen Music.” Using Chicago Jazz music as the basis for our architectural design, the next step was to acquire a site in which to locate the Chicago Jazz Center. It was established that the site must reflect certain characteristics of Chicago Jazz in order to tie in the idea that the music will be present in nearly all of the decision-making aspects of the design. One of the most important characteristics of Jazz music is the notion of improvisation. Improvisation could be defined as: “(a) Negotiation between anticipated and unanticipated phenomena and a play of the familiar within processes of tradition/repetition and change.”3 With that in consideration, the site chosen reflects this phenomena in relation to its unique soundscape. Grant Park is situated between Lake Michigan to the East, and Downtown Chicago to the West. The site forces contributed by the surrounding landscape is a blend of different sounds which is ever changing, provided from the city’s people, the sound of cars rolling through the street, the wind blowing through the park’s trees, Lake Michigan’s rolling tides, or from the train cars in the sunken railroad tracks of the McCormick Busway. We can simply call this “The Improvisation of the city of Chicago.” This idea of the soundscape would later be utilized in the development of the design thesis. Additionally, the site also contains many other characteristics, further establishing it as the only solution for the location of the

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Chicago Jazz Center. Grant Park is home to many of Chicago’s events and venues, for both local residents as well as traveling tourists. These events housed by the park include the Jazz Festival, Taste of Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival, Blues Festival, the Chicago Marathon, and Lollapalooza, a majority of which are specific to the music of Chicago. The actual plot in which the site is located is at the Northeast corner of Jackson and Columbus Drive, in axis with such architectural achievements as Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion, and Renzo Piano’s addition to the Art Institute of Chicago, both located directly North of the site. Directly Northeast of the site, diagonally across the street, is the Petrillo Music Shell, interestingly enough, the main venue for the Chicago Jazz Festival, further supporting the site selection. Additionally, the site makes use of its close proximity to a public transit station of the El Train with a walking distance of just one-quarter of a mile, connecting people from across the city directly to the site. With the site having been established, the design process could then begin. The first major architectural move was to place the complex underground, beneath the site. This decision was dictated primarily by the site selection. Being in the heart of Grant Park, the notion of an open and public park space was to be preserved, which was accomplished by keeping the above park surface clear of any real structure pertaining to the building itself, literally burying the Jazz Center beneath the site. This design decision was further supported with the Montgomery Ward Height Restriction Act, restricting any structure over thirty feet from being built within Grant Park. Additionally, by placing the Chicago Jazz Center underground, it created a sense of intimacy within the complex, apparent in the tight, dimly lit spaces often associated with underground architecture. This feeling of intimacy helped to further expand on this connection between Jazz and the design of the Chicago Jazz Center, reminiscent of the Jazz clubs, cabarets, and speakeasies of the 1920’s. In keeping with this notion of designing an atmosphere reminiscent of the early days of jazz, the idea of the street or alley came about. This idea had basically originated out of the experience one might have had in the Jazz Era of the 1920’s walking down the street lined with Jazz clubs and impromptu performances of musicians on the street. This notion of the street lent itself to designing a single circulation corridor, entering from one end, and exiting through the other, with the programmatic elements of the Jazz Center located on either side of the “street”. This “street” would draw you off the sidewalk above, as you descend down into the “Underground Jazz Hall.” It was at this point, we began to think of how the notion of sound will play into the experience of the Chicago Jazz Center. The idea was that, from the moment the visitor enters the site, to the point at which

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they leave the complex, they will have been exposed to an experience in which to understand sound and how it affects our perception of the surrounding environment. The emphasis was placed on three different soundscape zones in the experience of aural perception; sound, silence, and music. As stated earlier, the environmental soundscape would come into play in the development of the design. The first of these zones begins above in the park level of the site. Upon entering the site, one has already been accustomed to the soundscape of the exterior environment of Chicago. This zone we shall call the “Found Soundscape”. The sounds exposed to this zone are not controlled or organized in any way, and occur in a very natural manner. This is just one aspect of how we experience the aural perception. By understanding this level of sound in our environment, we can learn about its diversity, how we react to the different sounds, and gain a better appreciation for the unique sounds which make up the true essence of the city, seeing it more than just unwanted noise. Located above ground , the Found Soundscape is, essentially, a sound sculpture park in order to keep consistent with the notion of the public open park space. The sculptures found here are designed with the sole purpose of accentuating specific sounds found within the exterior soundscape. Each piece functions as a curving channel glass wall focusing and amplifying each sound to the visitors as they weave through the sinuous paths carved by the sculptures. Straight direct pathways cut through the site as well as the sculptures and are a direct abstraction of the complex’s floor plan. This notion of the straight lines of the pathways intersecting the curving sound sculptures is a loose portrayal of the characteristics of how jazz music is played, the constant steady beat, keeping the foundation of the song, being used as a point of reference for the free flowing improvisational aspect of jazz being played throughout the music from start to end, without any real rhyme or reason, outside of the musicians own intuition and representation of the music. After experiencing the Found Soundscape zone, the descent down into the Jazz Center brings you to the next level of aural perception, the “Designed Soundscape” zone. The Designed Soundscape is contained within the “street” component of the Chicago Jazz Center. At this level, in contrast to the Found Soundscape, the focus is on silence, to be more specific, the sounds of the spaces themselves, and how sound interacts with those spaces. When we hear sound, they are, more often than not, accentuated by the spaces in which they occur in. Sound reacts to spaces in very unique ways, depending on the volume and form of the space, as well as the materials which make up the containment of the space. Additionally, it is possible to understand a space simply be listening to how sound reacts to the space. For instance, if you listen to a space that has a high amount of echo, it can be deduced that the

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space is very large and is faced with a highly sound reflective material such as concrete. At the Designed Soundscape zone, there will be no external sources of sound other than the people within the space. Here, any sounds generated by the visitors from their voices, footsteps, etc, will be accentuated by the “street”. The form of the space is similar to that of a winding river with bends and curves, in order to aid in the reflection of the sounds, dispersing or focusing them at certain points of the walls. The low-slung ceiling will also help to keep the sound from reflecting too far off from its source, keeping the echoes from getting too out of hand. The materials will be highly reverberative, as concrete floors and ceiling, and a combination of different types of dense wood creating the curving walls of the street. Additionally, the street will act as the primary circulation corridor, with the entrance at one end, and the exit at the other, as well as access to all aspects of the program on either side of the space. These secondary spaces branching from the street will house last aspect of aural perception to be experienced by the visitor. At the final level, the “Produced Soundscape” zone, sound will be represented by the actual jazz music performed within the Jazz hall spaces. There will be a total of three of these anechoic spaces, meaning, spaces which have little to no reverberation. The purpose of being an anechoic space is to accentuate on the characteristics of jazz music, being the ideal conditions in which to play jazz. Jazz is said to be best represented with very little echo or reflection of sound, focusing on the direct sound emitting from the instrument and musician. These spaces, a 1,000 square foot Jazz cafe, a 2,500 square foot Jazz club, and the main 4,000 square foot Jazz hall, will be focused on bringing the audience as close to the performer in order to get the best possible experience of jazz being played, with very little echo or reverberation, and emphasize on the direct acoustics emitting from the instruments. At this point, the visitor will have been exposed to an experience in which to understand sound and how it affects their perception of the surrounding environment. They will have experienced sound, silence, and music, throughout the complex by the Found Soundscape zone, the Designed Soundscape zone, and the Produced Soundscape zone. As they leave the Chicago Jazz Center, the experiences they have encountered can be attributed to the careful planning and design of the complex, with a primary focus on the translation between music and architecture as a tool to articulate the experience sound and space. Through careful analysis of the Chicago Jazz Center, it is made apparent, the amount of research, study, and investigation of the topic of music and architecture, within the development of the complex. By incorporating this higher level of thought into the design, the Chicago Jazz Center rises above from a mere building, to a full experiential journey which answers the simple question, “How can jazz music drive an

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architectural design?â&#x20AC;? By designing with the sole purpose of enhancing the visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of Chicago Jazz, the Chicago Jazz Center will be recognized as the permanent center and venue dedicated to Chicago Jazz, staking their claim within the development and evolution of Jazz music.

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