Spaces that perform themselves

Abstract

Building on the understanding of music and architecture as creators of spatial experience, this thesis presents a novel way of unfolding music's spatial qualities in the physical world. Spaces That Perform Themselves exposes an innovative response to the current relationship between sound and space: where we build static spaces to contain dynamic sounds. What if we change the static parameter of the spaces and start building dynamic spaces to contain dynamic sounds? A multi-sensory kinetic architectural system is built in order to augment our sonic perception through a cross-modal spatial choreography that combines sound, movement, light, color, and vibration. By breaking down boundaries between music and architecture, possibilities of a new typology that morphs responsively with a musical piece can be explored. As a result, spatial and musical composition can exist as one synchronous entity. This project seeks to contribute a novel perspective on leveraging technology, design, science, and art to provide a setting to enrich and augment the way we relate with the built environment. The objective is to enhance our perception and challenge models of thinking by presenting a post-humanistic phenomenological encounter of the world.