Archinect - News

John Leo Gillen's debut monograph remixes the design of temporary utopias from the 60s to today

2023-04-28T18:44:00-04:00

The book explores the history of these ephemeral spaces in club culture. Told through key venues in important cities and moments across dance music history, it examines the rise of localised scenes and clubs, their distinct designs and architecture – as well as their shifts and demises as tastes, clientele and cities evolve.

The Irish-born Gillen studied for a Master's in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary Spaces at the ELISAVA | School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona. He explains in the book’s introduction: “Club movements are born as causes, in DIY spaces, created out of necessity by marginalised peoples. This often involves some form of ‘hack’ or new model, quickly inspiring copycats and triggering the process of commercialisation.”

The full, 240-page monograph was published April 25th by Penguin Random House's Prestel imprint and is available for purchase here.

Construction photos show Sou Fujimoto's House of Hungarian Music nearing completion

2021-01-20T17:45:00-05:00

Image courtesy of Liget BudapestPraised by both the architecture and music profession, Sou Fujimoto's House of Hungarian Music aimed to blend the natural and built environment. According to Fujimoto, he wanted to create a sense of harmony between "the nature of sound and the sounds of nature." The project will be a structural icon for Budapest as part of the Liget Budapest Project, the largest and "most ambitious" cultural development program in Europe.

House of Hungarian Music. Image © Mohai Balazs/Courtesy of Liget Budapest

From its glass-walled facade to its perforated canopy, what makes the sing is its undulating roof that is said to represent the "visual representation of the vibration of sound: the wave." Its organic design emphasizes renewable energy and environmentally aware construction methods (as noted by BREEAM). Fujimoto and his team also drew design inspiration from the Secessionist building of the Liszt Academy and Hungary's music and music education traditions.

Image ...

National Museum of African American Music to open this summer in Nashville

2020-02-24T11:20:00-05:00

The National Museum of African American Music is on track to open in Nashville later this year...it will be the only institution dedicated to showcasing music genres created and inspired by black Americans. In 2015, [mayor] Karl Dean, announced that plans would move forward to redevelop the old convention center on Fifth and Broadway into a brand-new space...Nearly three years from the start of the project, the museum is nearly finished and it is expected to be completed by this summer

Designed by Nashville-based Harold Thompson Architects, the museum will house more than 1,400 artifacts, seven galleries, a theater, and live music. "The perception nationally, I think, is that Nashville is just country music. And while we love country music, I think it’s important to touch base on all the other musical genres African Americans have helped to influence," said Tamar Smithers, director of Education and Public Programs, reports Black Enterprise.

Check out the virtual tour below:

PSU architecture students create new Pickathon Treeline Stage from 160 wooden apple bins

2019-08-02T18:31:00-04:00

For the sixth year in a row, the Pickathon Music Festival, which opens Friday, August 2 at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Ore., will feature a brand-new, temporary performance venue designed and built by Portland State University School of Architecture students from reused materials. This year’s rendition of the Treeline Stage utilizes 160 wooden apple-harvesting bins to create an immersive environment suggesting an orchard of towering trees—reaching 40 feet high at the tallest point.

Faculty members Travis Bell and Clive Knights have led a group of Portland State University Architecture students in the design and construction of an original, temporary Treeline Stage at Pickathon Music Festival.

How Michael Ford uses hip hop to introduce architecture to underrepresented youth

2018-06-22T15:05:00-04:00

Ford sees his teaching as a way to counter the troubled history of urban planning in America. “We've decimated cities that were built by the hands of African Americans [...],” he says. “Those decisions are made by people outside of those communities. There are a limited amount of people at the table to advocate for our communities.” “I'm letting kids know we have a history of building spaces and places,” Ford adds.

Michael Ford began his mission to introduce the architecture profession to underrepresented youth through hip hop over a year ago. As times goes on, his Hip Hop Architecture Camp initiative is growing as he tours the U.S. This new Rolling Stone article looks into what the kids learn during the engaging Camp sessions and features thoughts from Ford and some of the participating rappers about the strong connection between architecture and hip hop culture.

A new Houston music venue will open its final stage this year

2018-01-19T18:21:00-05:00

Houston recently gained a new music venue designed by SCHAUM/SHIEH, a small architectural collaboration operating between Houston and New York. The White Oak Music Hall is part of a whole cluster of music venues designed by the firm including The Lawn, and Raven Tower Pavilion. The Pavilion, a converted warehouse space, will soon be re-opened as the final stage in the overall music venue project.

The White Oak Music Hall located in Houston by SCHAUM/SHIEH. Image: Peter Molick.

The White Oak Music Hall located in Houston by SCHAUM/SHIEH. Image: Mark Torres/Houston Press.

The project is a seven-acre assemblage of new and adapted buildings, open-air structures, landscaped areas, and paved and decked surfaces along the Little White Oak Bayou. The White Oak Music Hall was completed last year and houses two performance halls with a 1200-person capacity.

The White Oak Music Hall located in Houston by SCHAUM/SHIEH. Image: Peter Molick.

The White Oak Lawn located in Houston by SCHAUM/SHIEH. I...

Lloyd Wright's Sowden House gets a cameo in The xx's new music video

2017-07-05T15:29:00-04:00

Lloyd Wright's concrete-block John Sowden House in Los Angeles makes a special appearance in “I Dare You”, the latest music video from British indie-pop band The xx as their “love letter to Los Angeles”.

Directed by fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan in collaboration with Raf Simons, the saccharine music video playfully alludes to the infamous Black Dahlia murder that took place at the house in the 1940s. In the video, a group of mischievous, lovey-dovey teenagers — featuring “Moonlight” actor Ashton Sanders, actress Millie Bobby Brown from “Stranger Things”, and Michael Jackson's daughter Paris, among others — dare each other to enter the haunted Wrightian home.

What ensues when the teenagers step foot into the house? Watch the full video below to find out.

h/t Phaidon

Man Writes 91 Songs About the Washington, D.C. Metro System

2017-06-13T17:28:00-04:00

It took six years, but every subway station in the Washington, D.C. area is now immortalized in song. For musician Jason Mendelson, it’s his magnum opus.

The Magentic Fields wrote 69 songs about love; professional tax manager and sometime musician Jason Mendelson has managed to record 91 songs about the Washington, D.C. Metro system, with one song for each subway stop.

Map of the Washington, D.C. Metro.

While music critics will not be equating these two works anytime soon, it's rare for an entire transportation system to be memorialized in song (although [Get Your Kicks On] Route 66, along with Kraftwerk's Autobahn, come to mind). It's worth noting that Mendelson doesn't play favorites: in the video accompanying the article, he proclaims that "There are no boring commuter stops."

The resounding success of Allied Works Architecture's "National Music Center"

2017-02-16T20:39:00-05:00

Incorporating both physical and intangible elements of Canada's musical history, the National Music Center by Allied Works is a nine-towered, terra-cotta tile clad complex that not only ropes a 112-year old hotel/blues club into the mix, but creates the kind of spaces suited for gazing dreamily into one's future.

According to Brad Cloepfil, Principal at Allied Works Architecture, the structure was "inspired by the light, landscape and geography of the northern prairie."

He goes on to note that "Studio Bell was created to amplify the rich history and future possibilities of Canadian music. The building aspires to create a sense of wonder and mystery, inspiring the visitor to explore. Nine separate towers rise five floors above the street, each resonating with music and activity. The building is alive with the life of music throughout its exhibition, recording, editing, performance and education spaces. The distinct vessels of music are bound together by the space between them, moments ...

How an "egalitarian incubator" music venue hopes to revive Brooklyn's art scene

2015-07-28T16:56:00-04:00

Music venue National Sawdust, formerly OMW workshop, slated to open this fall, hopes to revive, even temporarily, the thrill of ‘90s and early 2000’s Williamsburg, a time when anything felt possible and artistic collaboration ruled supreme. The [13,000 sq.foot] space will offer a rare outlet for musicians of lesser appreciated art forms, from opera to experimental jazz, the opportunity to study, practice, perform, and receive mentorship through an in-venue, non-profit program.

Fresh faces for new spaces. Non-profit arts group National Sawdust collaborated with architect Peter Zuspan — founding principal (and classically trained opera singer) of local emerging practice Bureau V — in designing the group's upcoming music performance space. While Brooklyn has become a commodified brand in recent years, National Sawdust and Bureau V hope the new venue will mix things up a bit by "[combining] the historic European concert hall model with the late bare-bones blackbox [theater] model".

Check out more of Bureau V's work on Archinect.

LEGO Architecture launches new student acoustic-design challenge to restore a destroyed music theater

2015-07-22T14:29:00-04:00

Following a successful inaugural event last year, LEGO Architecture is presenting another opportunity for architecture students in the Villa Pennisi in Musica 2015 summer workshop to hone their acoustic-design and LEGO-building skills in the upcoming #FILLTHETHEATRE challenge.

Taking place in August at the Villa Pennisi in Italy, the workshop challenge is part of the 15-day Villa Pennisi in Musica festival that brings together classical music, architecture, and performance design. Attendees get to check out live music performances, exhibitions, lectures, and presentations by major classical musicians and notable practitioners in architecture and sound design.

Using the 1,200-piece monochromatic LEGO Architecture Studio sets, students will build scale models of indoor structures that will amplify the acoustics of the historic Teatro Bellini of Acireale, a baroque theater that was destroyed in a fire in the 1960s. The theater was only partially reconstructed, but is no longer in use due...

Make Music NY crowdfunds upcoming youth archi-music show "Concerto for Buildings"

2015-06-11T09:04:00-04:00

The architecturally and musically inclined can join in on Make Music New York festivities this year with a special orchestral performance called "Concerto for Buildings" on Sunday, June 21. Make Music New York is a one-day music fest on the first day of summer that boasts more than 1,000 free concerts, which all take place throughout NYC's five borroughs.

For its ninth year, MMNY set up an Indiegogo campaign with a flexible goal of $7,000 to reel in further support for Concerto for Buildings. The musical showcase stars two NYC youth orchestra ensembles, Face The Music and Mantra Youth Percussion, and four composers: Paula Matthusen (winner of the 2014-2015 Rome Prize), Scott Wollshleger, Daniel Goode, and Face the Music student-composer Elijah Valongo. Surrounded by SoHo's historic cast-iron buildings, the performers will play their hearts out as they take advantage of the structures' percussive qualities, thus transforming them into a complementary musical backdrop.

Funds from the In...

Detroit's P. Funk-inspired Mothership is ready to get the party started

2015-03-31T20:24:00-04:00

Most people would probably be envious of the lucky DJs that got to spin tunes in The Mothership (I know I am). Ann Arbor-based practice Anya Sirota + AKOAKI looked to legendary funk collective P-Funk and their iconic album Mothership Connection to design the swanky modular DJ and broadcast booth for Detroit's North End neighborhood and its local music scene.

Akoaki created The Mothership to mark the start of the collaborative O.N.E. Mile initiative, which brings together architects, designers, and artists to revive the public spaces along historic Oakland Avenue for a series of experimental cultural events all year long. The Mothership made its debut during O.N.E. Mile's free (and unprecedented) Mothership Launch event this past October, where 12 honorary members of Parliament-Funkadelic did a special live performance in an empty garage on Oakland Avenue. The mobile unit is still stationed there but has more future public appearances in tow.

The Mothership is constructed by an aluminu...

LEGO Architecture to launch in Europe at the Italian “Villa Pennisi in Musica” event this August

2014-07-15T19:19:00-04:00

LEGO Architecture is making its European debut on August 1 in the "Villa Pennisi in Musica" event at the 19th-century Pennisi Villa in Italy. The event is part of a program that brings an Italian architecture summer school and a classical music masterclass under the same roof.

Architecture students will use LEGO Architecture to form their ideas as they explore ways to design and build a wooden acoustic shell for the event's outdoor chamber music performances — in less than 10 days.

"Archimusic" renders famous musicians into characteristic buildings

2014-06-17T17:12:00-04:00

Illustrator Federico Babina from Barcelona looks to some of the world's most influential musicians in his latest series, "Archimusic." Depicted in Babina's signature whimsical style, he architecturally renders 27 familiar names in various music genres like J.S. Bach, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Björk, Freddie Mercury, and Radiohead.

Maybe these drawings can spark a few creative notes (pun totally intended) of inspiration.

The buildings surely emphasize the enduring fame of these musicians, with some of them even resembling their physical appearances. Based on mere sightreading, the few measures of notes right below could also perhaps be a hint at the musician's musical personality.

Previously on Archinect news:
"Archibet": if architects designed an alphabet...
André Chiote illustrates the role of iconic buildings in the "urban collective memory"

The Empire State Building Makes Its Music Video Debut With the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2013-06-26T09:12:00-04:00

The Empire State Building starred in first-ever music video over the weekend as the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s released their latest single, “Despair.” High atop the observation deck from 2 a.m. to sunrise (the only hours that the tourists are at bay), the quintessential New York band rocked the quintessential New York building

Brian Eno's Imaginary Landscapes

2012-10-06T12:37:00-04:00

Sometimes when you are new in a place you can really see it

In this fairly dated video documentary by Duncan Ward and Gabriella Cardazzo multi disciplinary artist Brian Eno talks about imaginary landscapes, art, himself, New York, constructing sounds, installations and mainly about space.