There is Music in Every Building | Tom McGlynn | TEDxCambridgeUniversity

Summary

This script explores the profound connection between architecture and music, highlighting the parallels in their compositional elements and creative processes. The speaker, an architect and music enthusiast, delves into how both disciplines share terminology and can be experienced similarly through rhythm, harmony, and texture. The concept of 'frozen music' is discussed, and the script culminates in a unique experiment where a building's facade is translated into a piece of electronic music, demonstrating the tangible and intangible interplay between the built environment and sound.

Takeaways

• 🎼 The speaker is an architect who deeply intertwines their love for music with their profession, finding parallels between the two creative fields.
• 🏛 The concept of 'frozen music' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is introduced, suggesting that architecture is a solidified form of sound.
• 🎶 The script discusses the shared language between architecture and music, with terms like 'rhythm', 'dynamic', 'harmony', 'texture', and 'composition' being used in both fields.
• 🏢 Architectural components such as columns and windows create visual rhythms, while music uses sound to create auditory rhythms.
• 🎹 The choice of materials in architecture and instruments in music both contribute to the texture and overall composition.
• 📐 Architectural drawings and musical scores serve as instructions for the construction of buildings and the performance of music, respectively.
• 🏗️ The process of building a structure is compared to an orchestra performing music, with each element contributing to the final composition.
• 🎵 The speaker's brother, a music producer, collaborated with them to translate the facade of a building into a piece of electronic music, demonstrating a direct correlation between architectural design and musical composition.
• 🏛️ The script suggests that different architectural styles may correspond to different genres of music, such as punk for chaotic compositions or free jazz for fluid, non-standardized forms.
• 💻 The impact of technology on both architecture and music is highlighted, with computer-aided design and electronic music composition being prominent in contemporary practices.
• 🎼 The speaker encourages the audience to use their imagination to 'hear' the music of architecture, proposing that the built environment can be experienced as a symphony of visual and auditory elements.

Q & A

What is the relationship between architecture and music according to the speaker?

The speaker believes that the relationship between architecture and music goes beyond coexistence. They see music in every building and suggest that with a little imagination, one can experience the music inherent in architecture.

How does the speaker describe the concept of 'rhythm' in architecture?

In architecture, 'rhythm' is described as visual and refers to repeating patterns such as rows of columns or the arrangement of windows.

What is 'dynamic architecture' and how does it relate to music?

Dynamic architecture involves changes and variations, like a façade that steps in and out or up and down along its length. This can be likened to the dynamics in music, which involves changes in volume and intensity.

How does the speaker connect the concept of 'harmony' in music to architecture?

The speaker connects 'harmony' by stating that a building can demonstrate harmony if there is similarity in the design of different building components or if different building materials complement each other.

What is the term that the speaker identifies as crucial for both architecture and music composition?

The speaker identifies 'composition' as the crucial term for both architecture and music. It refers to the planned arrangement of parts to form a whole, whether it's the arrangement of building components in space or the arrangement of sound in time.

How does the choice of materials in architecture relate to the choice of instruments in music?

The choice of materials in architecture gives buildings texture and form, similar to how the choice or range of instruments and sounds available to a composer gives music its unique texture and form.

What does Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's famous quote 'architecture is frozen music' suggest according to the speaker?

Goethe's quote suggests that architecture can be seen as a solidification of sound, giving physical presence to what would otherwise be an aural experience.

How does the speaker attempt to translate the visual components of a building into music?

The speaker and their brother, an electronic music producer, worked together to create a musical representation of a building's façade. They considered each bay of the façade as a bar in the music, translating the structure and variations into different layers of rhythm and melody.

What does the speaker suggest when they say that a building built by hand is a 'performance' of the architectural design?

The speaker suggests that the construction of a building involves human interpretation, errors, and imperfections, much like a live music performance, which can add unique qualities to the final outcome.

How does the speaker encourage individuals to experience architecture and music?

The speaker encourages individuals to use their imagination to experience the music of architecture by looking at buildings, reading the facades, and finding the underlying rhythms, melodies, and harmony, thus enriching their experience of the built environment.

What is the speaker's final analogy for the relationship between a building, a street, and a city in terms of music?

The speaker's final analogy is that if an individual building can be translated to a song, then a street is like an album and a city is akin to a full record collection.