Studio 30

Resonate: Architecture, Arts and Acoustics

Sofia Colabella and Michael Mack | SENSES + TECH

This studio is available to students enrolled in ABPL90142 Studio C, ABPL90143 Studio D, and ABPL90115 Studio E.

Studio Description

The term 'resonance' relates to the propagation and perception of sound. Both concepts inform the process of sound design: soundwaves can either be amplified or damped, combined, or echoed, repeated or silenced, and each of these strategies generates a different acoustic experience.

No unique or exclusive design parameter corresponds to the perceived quality of a concert hall, and this is even more true in outdoor spaces. That's why acoustics should be approached as an integral part of the design process so that we can manage sounds, and the way sounds can shape our buildings and cities.

In this studio, students will explore the spatial and acoustic qualities of buildings and open-air sites through a set of exercises and by transforming a limestone quarry into a venue for live music performances. Projects will be informed by concepts of sound propagation and lighting design.

Studio Outcome

In the first phase, students will familiarise themselves with the concepts of acoustic design, design for live performing, and lighting design. By the end of this stage, students are expected to be able to explore sound qualities and lighting performance of spaces generated using Rhinoceros and physical models.

In a second phase, students will design an open-air live performance venue in an abandoned quarry in regional Victoria. By the end of week 12, students are expected to be able to:

1. define and improve the acoustic and lighting qualities of their architectures;
2. simulate acoustic performance and lighting phenomena;
3. communicate design ideas and propositions through a variety of media;
4. present their work verbally to an external panel of architects and engineers;
5. design a live-performing venue at different scales (1:200 to 1:5).

ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITES: Foundations of analytical thinking. Competency in Rhinoceros and Grasshopper.

Studio Leaders

Dr Sofia Colabella is an architect and Lecturer in Construction Technology in Architecture at ABP (the University of Melbourne). She is the co-founder of 'Gridshell.it', a company specialised in the design and construction of large span and special timber structures. In 2016-2017, as visiting Scientific Partner employed at the EPFL, she developed a novel approach on the reuse of discarded high-tech sports equipment for architecture. In 2019, she got the bronze medal at the Tongji Construction Festival. She is member of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) and a member of the Hangai Prize committee 2020.

Michael Mack is a Subject Coordinator, Senior Tutor, and Studio Tutor across a wide range of subjects in the Bachelor of Design and Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne. These include Design Visualisation and Rendering, Digital Design and Fabrication, and Urban Data Analysis. He is also a co-founder of Tinytecture, a set design and model making company combining architecture with a love of craft and fabrication. In 2017, Michael exhibited in the 2017 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) with a project investigating and speculating on shared economies and ownership of space.

Readings & References

• Barron M., Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design. Independence: Routledge; 2009.
• Beranek L., Concert Halls and Opera Houses, Second edition, Springer, 2003.
• Boning W., Bassuet A., A room without walls: optimising an outdoor music shell to maintain views and maximise reflections. Proceedings of the Institute of Acoustics, Vol.37 Pt.3 Cox J T., Sonic Wonderland: A Scientific Odyssey of Sound, Penguin Book, 2014.
• Engel H., Structure Systems, 3rd edition, 2007 (1967).
• Fowler M., Architectures of Sound: Acoustic Concepts and Parameters for Architectural Design, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2017.
• Holding E., Staged Architecture: The Work of Mark Fisher, Wiley, 2000.
• Nerdinger W., Frei Otto. Complete Works: Lightweight Construction - Natural Design, 2005.
• Long M., Architectural Acoustics. Burlington, Elsevier Science & Technology; 2006.
• https://www.akutek.info/concert_hall_acoustics_files/parameters.htm
• Pachyderm https://www.food4rhino.com/app/pachyderm-acoustical-simulation
• David Byrne: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-architecture-helped-music-evolve-david-byrne

Further references will be provided during the semester.

Schedule 18:15-21:15 Mondays and Thursdays

Contact Handbook Key Dates