Seems presumptuous at best and perhaps just downright disrespectful to assume your taste in music will suit everyone.
If you put on headphones, everyone is happy. If you blast music so others are forced to wear headphones to block out music they find annoying, they are sad.
I think everyone works differently and has their own preferences for their work environment. Put on your headphones and keep the peace.
Maybe a step back to consider the positive aspects of a peaceful environment to get lots of serious work done is in order.

Maybe you are speaking of the camaraderie that result from music/late hour/intense work mode. When I was in undergrad and ipods didn't exist, some people would play their music loud. Got to hear lots of music I wouldn't have heard otherwise. But it can tread on the whole my musical taste is "good" let me dominate this environment kick.

I think the trend these days (or by the time I went to grad school at least) is to stick to your own music with your headphones. I don't know. Maybe music became a more private thing? Probably has a lot to do with the technology and people's attitudes changing with them.

I don't mean to be imposing anything on anybody, this is not my intent at all. Misen I think you understand where I'm coming from. I had spent a lot of time in studios where people were more social, if you don't have headphones.

I feel like I'm trapped in a bubble here and everyone else is too. I can't just ask a question to the group of six or seven people in the studio, I have to ask individuals and possibly multiple people disturbing their bubble. I think one of the most valuable parts of going to a good school is what you learn from your peers. I don't know anything about most of the people in my studio because the only time I have heard them talk is during reviews.

I'm incredibly disappointed, and sad to find that camaraderie is gone. That part of architecture school was something i had bragged to my friends about, and really helped me get through some of those tougher times. I learned so much from the friendly conversations with my peers, as well as new music.

yeah, i used to love it too when studios were full of different sounds. just taking a walk you would hear something different every 10 feet or so. the noise was definitely conducive to activity (both arch production & social). nobody seemed to have much problem with it back then. i can't imagine how bland it must be in the ipod era.

Studios should, no must, have music (just take turns, find agreeable music, etc., pretty simple).

Anyone that tells you to only wear headphones, tell them to go to the library. A studio is not a place to study!



I can't imagine the banality, either. If there are just a bunch of zombies zoned out in their own worlds, how do you learn from your classmates? Dunno, sounds miserable (and very unproductive) to me.

Studio should be one big party that never ends (that's awesome and painful, but something special for sure).

This is very sad. The group camaraderie was a critical part of the education process for me - learning to tolerate people I didn't like but would find common ground with as we worked side by side over the course of a semester of late nights.

I guess we could spin this as further evidence of the schools' focus on the "individual genius" architect not the reality of the architect as part of a team.

kanu, I hope when you get a job you can find a firm with an open, shared, teamwork vibe instead of one where everyone sits silently at their desk - trust me, they DO exist!

Also, we used to listen to Graceland a LOT in studio when it came out - I'll never forget Rick Joy making the funky mouth noises along to that (he is a drummer so of course it sounded perfect)!

i am in a pragmatic mood today, so....

buy beer and pizza, take to studio, share and start a group conversation on the project you are working on...or any other topic relevant to your studio - that could kick start the camaraderie I too find essential to a healthy studio culture; food is a more universal and desired catalyst for arch. students than music!

music is a product of that camaraderie, so in the meantime, put keeep your headphones on -

on a side note, even though we all love the fuggees, it does not mean you can keep playing "the Score" continuously through an entire semester...ruined "kissing me softly" for me...that's right...i am talking to you, Adam!!!

I'm curious about your taste in music. There were some people in studio we did NOT let play music, because frankly they sucked as a DJ. I can't help but wonder if there's (a) you're in a school with a bunch of tools who don't like anything but clay aiken and nickelback or (b) you're the person who likes clay aiken and nickelback. No offense, but the odds dictate is that (B) is more likely.

What are you suggesting that's getting shot down?

My perception is that there's a weird mix of music that's deemed 'acceptable' in any given studio environment. Normally this leans towards indie/radiohead/death cab variety, but allows for outliers once in awhile like country (or at least bluegrass), hip-hop (as opposed to rap... think Common and not G-Unit), and potentially some hardcore stuff.

By the fourth year in studio there was about 10 people (about 75 in class for each year) who were 'in charge', and everyone pretty much had no problem because they were the ones who were bringing the good/new music anyway and made the effort to mix it up. Generally we operated on a veto system, where if anyone really objected to a particular CD (not another (boy bands or similar) then we would move to the next, but you did have to tolerate some stuff you didn't really like but could live with (jack johnson)...

I shared an office space where they played JACK fm. The same songs from high school played over and over again. It was DREADFUL and I left.

Wear headphones or have common taste in music.

hmmm, we primarily used headphones in studio but it never struck me that we were lacking in camaraderie. when people did play music out loud, it _was_ annoying (and in my opinion, it was often done to be annoying). asking questions was never an issue with headphones on, and people did talk to each other a lot.

and also, this way i didn't have to force others to deal with my need to listen to nico and yankee hotel foxtrot on repeat for far too long (while dealing with a breakup) OR review time spent exclusively with gary numan and depeche mode. depeche mode was ALWAYS my choice for cleaning up files for the laser cutter.

one thing that was awesome was that we _could_ share music on our network itunes library. which did expose me to a ton of new stuff (or new to me stuff), and did lead to several adventures (ie finding the mystery person with the first ride album and swapping cds/finding my secret itunes admirer/etc).

We rarely played music out loud in studio. We used headphones, but mainly to say "Leave me alone I'm cranking something out"

Otherwise, we were more likely to congregate in small groups and talk about anything from the studio assignment to being bummer about missing the game due to the studio deadline. The camraderie was there, just without the music.

this is an architectural issue. at Knowlton Hall, there are no barriers between studio spaces, any music playing anywhere would reverberate throughout the building. Extremely annoying, headphones were a must.

i seem to remember it being pretty communal. i don't ever remember ever asking anybody's opinion...but i do think some people just kind of checked out by donning headphones of their own.

kind of music definitely varied. holiday music in december (lots of guaraldi peanuts christmas album). sly & the family stone was popular. we didn't usually repeat too much...but i remember during one deadline crunch, i think we were all working so hard nobody got up to change the bob marley legend cd for about 10-12 hours straight. i remember finally getting off my chair (bathroom break, i'd been putting off for hours), having to wade through nearly knee deep foam core & paper scarps and thinking, damn, we've done a lot of work.

there was also a neighbouring studio that would not only blast the chumbawumba song every now & then, but they would also sing out loud to it, "I GET KNOCKED DOWN, BUT I GET UP AGAIN..." i'm sure that annoyed some people but i remember thinking it was pretty funny.

I don't think its a musical taste issue, I never managed to put any music on for anyone to hear, I was only scolded for music from my headphones being to loud while i had them off my head, (granted i had turned them up so i could hear, but still its not like i was attempting to blast music, it couldn't have been louder then the sound a macbook can generate with its stock speakers. I asked if we could take turns playing music or if anyone had any suggestions. the answer i got was "read the rules for studio conduct" which apparently says that "if any one person is bothered by any activity then that activity must stop)"Which makes sense, I don't want to ruin anyones work environment.

Perhaps it the inevitable influence of technology, but I really think we have a bad studio culture, I have made it through a whole quarter without really knowing any of my classmates, I couldn't tell you anything about them other then what I have heard during reviews. I think this isolation is further manifested by the work people leave on or around their desks. only a few people pin up any of their work near their desk, they seem to want to hide it for fear that someone will copy them. overall its a very negative atmosphere.

Perhaps the studio camaraderie will come as I get further into the program. Simples i think your point about the music being a result of that studio culture rather then a cause for it is a good point. I will work hard to try and win over my classmates with food.

Im really just shocked at how quite it is in here, You could hear a pin drop at times. Really the only constant noise comes from people who crash their computer or are cursing at some program, but no one offers to help, they all just have their headphones on, so the cursing continues, I try to lend a hand when possible if i see someone looking distressed but I too am isolated by my headphones. Having worked at a two different schools and three different firms, I have never seen a work environment like this

Simple..if you all like the same type of music then it is fine but if you don't then you have to respect them and they should respect you and everybody should wear their headphones.I know you will probably fall asleep after like 5 minutes if you don't have any music on (I know I do!) so just bring your laptop,your headphones and you're good to go. I myself listen to a lot of black metal,classic rock,gothic metal etc.. and it is really LOUD with singers screaming like wounded bears and stuff so it wouldn't be fair to other students if I listened to them without a headphone.

hahah at simples....... i know exactly what your pertaining too..


there's this thing that was invented called 'shuffle' ...... i think it works great where there's a diverse crowd..

if anyone suggests Jack Johnson, throw THIS on. Aw yeah.

For some reason Led Zeppelin increases my creativity.. O_0

LB, despite graduating just two years ago, I had a friend in studio who sang "Homeless" from Graceland constantly, especially in a particularly acoustically favorable stairwell. I'm glad to see a continuity there even if people usually use headphones now.

When I was in studio, which as I said was quite recently, people usually and preferably used headphones. Sometimes people, myself included, would play music out loud, but usually this was done only very late at night, or when there were few people there and those with agreeable taste. The last year I was there, they redid the studios, opening them up much more and reducing the size of each space, so headphone use became more imperative. I, as well as many others, found it exceptionally annoying when people would blast their music, and usually it was people who thought they had such fucking amazing taste--we actually had one guy who wrote his own music and would play it. I don't think headphone use had any ill-effect on studio culture: it was easy for someone to pull their headphones off and talk, and kept people from getting at each others' throats over conflicting tastes.

And as much as the more open studio made it more necessary for people to sequester themselves acoustically, it did create a greater physical connection, so I think it balanced out in the end.

in one studio we put a play list together...everyone submitted 10-20 songs they liked and we put them on one random list so that everyone got a little something they for sure liked then also go to hear others peoples songs. it worked pretty well.

I'm having the same problem in my studio right now... The students from my previous studio last semester liked to play music, and they had good taste... I always looked forward to seeing if I would discover new music just by sitting in studio. This semester I'm with some mostly new people and they all wear headphones. The difference is like night and day ... they feel inaccessible, and the studio is much less energetic. They look like a line of zombies all hooked up to a machine. It's a trivial thing, but in my current state of impending final crit related stress the sight of it is really ticking me off for some reason.