Friday, February 27, 2009

Technology



Test 1:


1. We made a raised floor plane, testing out different surface

2. We places microphones under each surface

3. The microphones picked up the sounds, and sent through a mixer

4. The mixer, was output through speakers

5. Different effects were used on each microphone


Questions:


1. How can we lighten the system

2. While the primitive technology was nice in its simplicity, how can we use programming techniques to satisfy our demands


The nice thing about the study was its ability to work in real time, but we lost control of many issues, while materiality had inherenet issues.

Site

We chose the lobby of Hayes Hall in the School of Architecture and Planning at SUNY Buffalo because it serves as gallery space, which is consistantly being renewed. We felt that the changing art exhibits would add another layer to the research and installation.

Our initial study:
1. Take a picture every second for an hour
2. Locate pedestrian footprints on a plan of Hayes Hall
3. Combine each image into a film

The study produced a heat map, which generally located footprints and frequency throughout the hour.

Moving Forward

We had come to several conclussions:
1. We wanted to proceed with an installation
2. We are pursuing pedestrian frequency as a means of conveying musical frequency
3. Architecture, the space between people, produces frequencies which are unique for
any space in the world
4. The pedestrian becomes the musician

Questions we asked ourselves:
1. Where should the installation be sited?
2. How do you track pedestrian frequency?
3. How do you output an equivalent frequency, in real time?
4. Overall technology issues.
5. Why is this important?
6. What else can this thing do?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Christopher Janney's Sound Stair

http://www.janney.com/qt/soundStair.html

SoundStair

Initial Thoughts

The group consists of Adam Feit, Adam Laskowitz, Daniel Barry, and James Hamilton. As practicing musicians and architecture students at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, we are looking to combine our passions into a progressive yet practical application.


We initially approached our thesis as a design project, intended to use musical theory and composition as a means of designing a concert hall. Quite literally, we were to disect a given piece of music, and define it in terms of architecture.

The art and installations of Christopher Janney began to make us reevaluate our initial scheme. Rather than tear apart a given song in order to design space, how can we use our built environment to create song?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009




Stan Allen's From Object to Field