Music and Design speak the same language

7/13/2018

When I was a child, I would sneak my older sister's CDs into my room and listen to them until she got back home. I always thought music was extraordinary; it is what makes humans human. Music is in a number of ways the fabric to our lives and the definition of society. Music fuels the mind and thus it fuels our creativity. A creative mind allows to make great discoveries and innovations. It makes learning more fun and memorable, it brings people together, it reduces stress and anxiety…it is a universal language.
Music and architecture can be paralleled in many more ways than one. Musical terms such as rhythm, texture, harmony, proportion and articulation refer both to architecture and to music. Rhythm in music is patterns of sounds in relation to a beat; repetition of elements openings, shapes, structural bays- establish regular or irregular rhythm in architecture. Musical texture refers to layers of sounds and rhythms produced by different instruments. Architectural texture appears in different materials. Harmony is balance of sound or composition and balance of parts together. Proportion is relationship between parts; in music it is distance between notes or intervals. Dynamics is the quality of action in music or in a building’s facade or mass.

The Architect: conductor of the orchestra or the soloist?
At times we are the lead musician in a band. We know where to take the tune and allow others ample opportunity to play their parts, but we are also the conductors who are responsible for pulling the whole ensemble together to compose the owner's inspiration into a harmonious composition.
Projects will evolve, and the architect should orchestrate the complex team of collaborators to ensure that the client’s needs are met and the original design goals are realized. There lies the true value of hiring an architect and how my firm name “Archestrate” came about.

Acoustical Design
My career started at Performance Architecture of New Orleans. A firm who specialized in Performing Art Facilities. I was part of the design team on several projects including the Louisiana State University Marching Band Hall, Performance & Academic Buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico, James Madison University Center for the Arts, University of South Florida Visual and Performing Arts Facility, University of Hartford Performing Arts Facility and the George Mason University Performing Arts Center. We worked with acoustical engineers to balance the right amount of absorption, reflection and diffusion in every space for clear smooth sound. The adjacent video shows the GMU marching band covering Rage Against the Machine in one of the practice spaces designed by Performance Architecture. The images below represent just a few of the amazing performance halls designed by Performance Architecture, owned by Architect Michael Howard.

James Madison University Center for the Arts

Central Washington University Concert Hall

University of South Florida Visual and Performing Arts Facility

Louisiana State University Marching Band Hall

Graphic design and its role in Music
Adam Farrell of record label Loma Vista Recordings says that the role of design today is “probably more important than at any time in the business of music.” He explains that where a few decades back, billboards and print ads did the talking, today design is “your opening statement,” as “most fans enter the world of an artist via some kind of image or video they almost scroll past on a phone or a tablet. So the visuals that go along with the music have to give some sense of story and idea. They need to grab.”
Visual storytelling is exactly what our client Guns of the Seneca wanted for their album "Citizens of the Universe." The SciFi Futurism artwork takes you through the universe to another world that has modern architecture and aquatic hydroponic growing stations. Let Archestrate be in your corner when you release your new music. We will design all your materials such as cover art, social media branding, logo and brand identity, flyers, etc.

Design and creativity in all its forms are integral to music and how we consume it, and the same works in reverse. Both have the power to make cultural and societal shifts, big and small, and ultimately enhance the experience of being alive. Whether on a large or small level, that’s a very exciting thought.

Author

Shelley Olivier, AIA, NCARB
Owner of Archestrate LLC
"Yes I married a musician. Are you surprised?"

2 Comments

Nicole Olivier

7/13/2018 04:18:03 pm

Awesome

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8/28/2018 11:38:10 am

In as much as I want to disagree, I still feel this is true somehow. Both are underpaid to begin with. The industry has become so saturated nowadays that it's very difficult to find the standard category which we can use to define who among the artists are doing things right and therefore should be paid a certain amount. Most would sell themselves short out of desperation so the asking price is never a factor on how good an artist is and how well he knew his craft. I don't know what to say. It must be hard to be a true artist nowadays. Everyone can easily fake a profession with just a good social media presence.