![\"Fig.](\"http:\/\/thesis.arch.hku.hk\/2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/image671.jpg\")
<\/a>Fig. 1 Sainte Marie de La Tourette<\/p><\/div>\n
The thesis attempts to investigate correlations between architecture and music, and explore a design approach in which architecture is largely inspired and informed by music. What I seek in the thesis is purely an inspirational relationship between the two disciplines, but not the technical concerns, such as acoustical effects of musical performance in theaters. My interest lies in the underlying influence and connection that makes it possible for music to stimulate architectural strategy, for example, how a melody might inform a spatial organization. Ultimately, this inter-disciplinary approach wishes to push the limits of creativity and bring some innovative perspectives towards the creation of spaces.<\/p>\n
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Why:<\/p>\n
Through the architecture history, there has been continuous efforts put into using music as inspiration for design, both in the discipline and practice. Among all the architects that have sought the cross-influence between music and architecture, Iannis Xenakis and Daniel Libeskind are probably the ones who have pushed this practice to the furthest. Xenakis, who was a composer and an architect working in Le Corbusier\u2019s studio, designed the undulating glass surface for Sainte Marie de La Tourette, which displayed rhythmic variations to achieve an enriched environmental appearance (Fig. 1). Libeskind, who had a professional music background, \u00a0designed the Jewish Museum, the plan of which was organized in intriguing de-constructivist shapes. The tension of spaces in this building was considered as having an \u201carchitectural sound\u201d, which demonstrated a strong characteristic of musicality embedded in the design (Fig. 2). Besides the engagement of musicality in real projects, there have been academic studies on the topic of correlations between music and architecture. In the 1990s, the College of Arts and Architecture at Montana State University\u00a0had a joint course offered to both architecture and music major students. The outcome was for architecture students to design a building inspired by a specific piece of music, while for music students to compose a short melody based on their experiences of a certain architectural space.<\/p>\n
Looking though the attempts mentioned above to use music as an inspirational source to architecture design, I think the engagement with music is still in a limited scale, only on the facade or the profile of the plan. And in those cases, the musicality seems to be an outcome of spatial design rather than the strategic guide for the project. Besides, I have looked up several student projects about music and architecture. It is frustrating to see the design projects turn out to be little more than undulating curvatures and dynamic turning nodes. M y thesis attempts to push the connections between music and architecture a bit forward, and engage with music not only for certain elements, but in a holistic picture. I believe the correlations can be explored in a more systematic and objective way, and hopefully I can use these underlying similarities as a method to inform the design.<\/p>\n