Pre-synopsis Report The Music in Architecture -Aishwarya Khurana Roll no. 16 Fifth Year B.arch Academy of Architecture  The Music in Architecture 24th June 2016 Music is powerful stuff. What is music, anyway? It is a complex amalgam of melody, harmony, rhythm and silence in a particular structure. The fine line between noise and silence. It has the potential to stimulate people both physically and psychologically; manipulate their moods and emotions and enable them to change their state. Right from being an infant and listening to your mother’s lullaby, to going to school and learning to recite abcd… , music helps in improving communication, learning and even memory. People enjoy different genres and intensities of music. It largely depends on one’s mood and atmosphere. While some prefer soft music to calm them, others might prefer fast-paced music that gives them excitement and energy. How did music become so popular? The 20th Century saw a revolution in music listening as the radio gained popularity worldwide and new media and technologies were developed to record, capture, reproduce and distribute music. A live performance by Bob Dylan Music performances became increasingly visual with the broadcast and recording of music videos and concerts. Artists like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley promoted pop music and rock and roll in the west. In India artists like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Zakhir Hussain popularised Indian classical music in the west and instruments like Sitar, violin and tabla. What is the role of culture in music cognition? The culture of a place is also associated with music. Ethnomusicologists study music as a social process to understand not only what music is but why it is and what it means to the audience. This enables them to create music that would appeal more to the people. Nowadays, people in India have developed an interest for Western Music but many of them still work hard to keep the essence of Indian Music alive. Bi-musicality is a study where people well-versed with music from two different cultures exhibit dual sensitivity to both genres. This would improve globalisation and make people culturally aware of different genres of music. How to incorporate the emotional, social and physical essence of music into architecture? Music and architecture have various layers that can be overlapped. Density: A structure’s size, shape and volume contribute to its architectural density while musical density is related to the number of instruments used. Structure and Organization: The most important aspect of architecture is its structure and how well-planned it is. Similarly, music is the correct organization of tones, rhythm and pitch. Incorrect organization for music and architecture results in failure. Materials: For both music and architecture, materials play an important role. While each structure requires materials that would suit it well, different materials produce varying types of sounds and music. Emotional interpretation: Music and architecture act as mediums of communication and evoke different emotions for people. By carefully overlaying these layers, social aspect in the form of educating students in various genres of music, spiritual aspect in the form of letting people express themselves through music and physical aspect by creating spaces for learning, rehearsing and enjoying music, can be achieved. Creating spaces using techniques and materials that would enable a person to experience the purity of music, encouraging new artists to perform and produce new music, live-performing spaces for people who enjoy music and providing a platform for the Indian artists to spread their talent are the objectives of this project. The result should neither be purely musical nor architectural, but a hybrid that falls between the two disciples. In a world with so much stress, a place that is a blend of music and architecture, which help people feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Music also acts a healing medium. People suffering from depression, anxiety or even mental disabilities can use spaces with musical impacts to their benefits. By enabling workshops, performances and classes by new artists as well as Indian classical and Western musicians will help people understand the Indian culture as well as be aware of the other music genres of the world. NCPA, Mumbai Mumbai is the hub of upcoming singers, music directors and djs. Places like The National Centre of Performing Arts organize music, dance and theatre events and have auditoriums, libraries and studios for the artists. Live performing centres like The Blue Frog and Mehboob studios are known for holding gigs every night of the week. The True School of Music has music education departments by music directors like Mr. Shankar Mahadevan, but fees go upto 2-3 lakh per annum. The Blue Frog, Mumbai The major drawbacks of these places are that they are too expensive and mostly cater to the elite class of people. Common people find it difficult to afford training in places like these. Also, Indian classical music like the qawwalis and rajasthani folk music are not performed and thus, the culture seems to be dying slowly. The Jewish Museum: The Jewish Museum in Berlin is one of the largest museums in Europe. It has various spaces like the exhibition centre and learning spaces. One of the most emotional and powerful spaces in the building is a 66’ tall void that runs through the entire building. The concrete walls add a cold, overwhelming atmosphere to the space where the only light emanates from a small slit at the top of the space.  Jewish Museum, Berlin The ground is covered in 10,000 coarse iron faces. A symbol of those lost during the Holocaust; the building is less of a museum but an experience depicting what most cannot understand. Thus, using materials that create the required sound for the people to experience certain emotions and also modifying the volumes and density of the space to make people experience the loss during Holocaust, is inspiring. National Music Centre of Canada (NMC):  The NMC is an entirely new cultural institution dedicated to the music of Canada in all of its forms. Functions of NMC: Museum Ariel view of the NMC Performance hall Interactive music centre education Recording studios Broadcast centre Nine towers form the body of the building; the vessel walls, clad in terra cotta, rise in subtle curves that merge, part and intertwine, modelled by light, gravity and acoustics. Conceptual Planning The conceptual planning shows the nine towers and how they are connected. There is a central gallery or the lobby space from where people can go for different activities like the classroom, café or performance areas. Three areas on the left are connecting to the other bridges via a bridge with the road below. A study model of the project The connecting bridge over the road Entering from the street, the building is filled with the reverberation of voices and music, drawing visitors up into five floors of performance, education and collections spaces. The gallery  The apertures at each gallery create a threshold of sound, introducing the content and programs of the particular exhibition. The spaces between are filled with silence and ambient light; views between the towers frame the city and landscape beyond. They create a sense of excitement by discovering new artists, hearing new sounds and celebrating with friends. They have 5 levels for the visitors: Level 1: Sign up for the tour. Level 2: Enjoy Canada’s identity that’s reflected into music in the performance areas. The performance area Level 3: Experience spaces with music that stimulates your body, nourishes your soul and moves your body. Level 4: Make your own music. Level 5: Celebrate the music by recognized musicians in the museum. These 5 steps would help one to experience music socially, spiritually and even physically. “What if a visit to the museum was exciting as going to a music festival?”