ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY, THEORY & CRITICSM

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIES III EB330001

Anglia Ruskin University Faculty of Science and Technology Department of the Built Environment

Architectural Theory of Music Venue Report

Songyan Zhang SID: 0912255

08/03/2012

Content
Introduction..3 Types of production.4 Seating capacity.4 The design of music venue.4 Forms of auditorium to stage relationship..5 360 encirclement5 210-220 encirclement.6 180 encirclement7

Conclusion 9 Reflection .9 Reference..10 Image Reference10

Introduction
A music venue presents one of the most difficult design tasks for an architect because it combines the need for a technically perfect space with the necessity of allowing fantasy and dramatic music to happen. The music venue is used for a concert or musical performance generally. The elusive theatrical experience at its best is a tenuous combination of a good production and surroundings that do not overwhelm it, and also a void that is limited enough in scope to allow the willing suspension of disbelief to occur. This paper would presents contemporary and historical architectural typologies of music venue and also with the analysis of case studies.

Types of production
The music venue is mainly for the musical performance and concert no matter it is outdoor bandshell, concert hall or indoor such as opera house and so on. A symphony orchestra averages about 90 players. However, this number might be up to 120 or even more. The smallest scale of musical performance is recitals, where solo singers and instrumentalists with an accompanist are concerned. The number of performers is rarely more than four or five. Chamber concerts including jazz, pop and folk music will normally be limited to ten or twelve musicians, but sometimes they may up to forty or fifty.

distance of the furthest seat from the action beyond which appreciation of the performance begins to deteriorate. The seating capacity is not the only measure of the size of a music venue. The size of the stage, the production facilities to support it and the scale on which the public areas are provided may have more effect. So the measure of the seating capacity can be defined as following:

Very large 1500 or more seats Large 900-1500 seats Medium 500-900 seats Small under 500 seats

Seating capacity
Most music venues should make provision for a small orchestra of about ten to twelve players. So as considering this factor, the first characteristic is the seating capacity.

The design of music venue

The music venue supposed to provide the space for giving a full view of the performers. So there is a limit to the distance they can project their performances and also hold their audience. The distance between the centre of the performing area to the furthest seat in the auditorium must allow the audience to hear the sound and see the action from the stage. The general distance is accepted as 20 meters maximum from the geometrical centre for an open stage or from the setting line of a proscenium stage. However, for the music venue, in which facial expressions are less important, the distance can be increased up to 30 meters.

For the acoustic limits, which has come to preoccupy designers more than ever before, are mainly because of the predominance of computer modelling in analysing the various aspects of sound. The acoustic characteristics of a space, in simplified terms, are dependent upon the behaviour of sound reflections and on the period of reverberation. The architectural digest named Raul Barreneche used to describe this issue: Ten to fifteen years ago, the main acoustic consideration for theatre designers was reverberation the length of time required for sound to decay in a room. Reverberation is dependent on a rooms volume and shape, as well as on material finishes. Now, practitioners are paying attention to building geometries and other acoustic concepts such as loudness, clarity, intimacy and envelopment, which contribute to the overall sound of a theatre.
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The capacity should be derived from the visual and acoustic limits for a particular kind of performance and the form of auditorium to stage relationship. For purely economic reasons it would seem that the maximum capacity possible should be aimed at, but for every form of audience to stage relationship, there is a limit to the

The period of reverberation must be short for clarity of speech. It is usually preferred longer for music and longer still for choral singing, etc. design of reflecting and absorbing surfaces can assist acoustics. However, there is a limit to the size of a space in which sufficient clarity of unaided speech can be maintained.

This form is also called theatre-in-the-round. The acting area is surrounded on all sides by the audience. The entrances for music performers are normally made through the audience or from under the stage so that there is no background to the performing area. The musical performers have their backs to part of the audience all the time, and this limits the distance at which their performance can be adequately appreciated.

Forms of auditorium to stage relationship

360 encirclement
The figure on the left shows the basic form of this kind of form and also with an example The New Victoria Theatre. The hand writing on the bottom of the image explains the advantage of the 360 encirclement. The concert hall is located within a public park intended to soften the acres of asphalt and concrete with surround it. Unlike most concert halls, the main lobby is linear and reflects the street pattern and increasing public access. At the end of the lobby, there is an openable glass panes which allow unhindered entry. This area has been set up by a museum of the philharmonic, Disney memorabilia, a restaurant, a pre-concert amphitheatre and shops.

Case study 1: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Architect: Frank O Gehry Location: Los Angeles, California

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is designated as the permanent home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Gehry focused more on the interplay with the music centre. The Walt Disney Concert Hall is also consistent with Frank O Gehrys Landscape building of the late 1970s and 1980s, which created the faux tableaux of an acropolis in Los Angeles.

The 2,400 seats auditorium has been designed following the acoustical parameters with every effort made to achieve the feeling of close distance by using a computer-calculated wrapper. The play stage is surrounded by wooden seating blocks and the timber forms added inside the perimeter for visual and acoustic reasons. The natural light enters into the building from the skylights and a large window at the back of the Hall.

The Togamura is helding a festival sponsored by the Japanese Centre for the Dramatic Arts in the small village of Togama. This building functions as a covered internal stairway, leading visitors ceremonially down the hill to the amphitheatre below. Another function is the location of the building. The building is located beside the lake, this is also the major component of this tightly formed ensemble, and as with its Greek prototype it uses the slop of the landscape to support its seats. However, the traditional wall behind the stage has been removed for audience to enjoy the view of the mountains beyond, and view of the lake which likes a mirror had been adopted as well. The figure above shows the basic form and also with the example The Chichester Festival Theatre which is drawn in section and floor plan.

210-220 encirclement
This type of encirclement can be well present in the classical Greek and Hellenistic theatres. Normally the entrances to the acting area (stage) could be a vertical wall or platform on the open side, but the acting area is at the focus of the seating. This kind of music venue is in the open air generally. The best example is the theatre at Epidauros in the Peloponnese, which has been constructed in the fourth century BC. Nowadays, this type of music venue is still used for the tourist season concerts and others.

Case Study 2: Togamura

Architect: Arata Isozaki Location: Togama, Japan

180 encirclement
This type is more like the Greek theatre, which was open to the elements, but there was an enclosure round it for the sense of urban character. The epic example was the Roman theatre.

The figure on the left shows the basic form of the 180 encirclement.

Case Study 3: Opera House

This kind of music venue is normally built on a flat site with entrances to an abrupt amphitheatre. The best example of this type is the theatre which is built in the second century AD at Bosra in Syria. The acting area (stage) is built as a rectangle and facing the seating area which has been designed as a semicircle.

Architect: Jean Nouvel Location: Lyon, France

The view from the main entrance bridge toward the ensemble is just as breathtaking as that seen by the spectators looking west, a linear sequential stacking of the various pieces of the puzzle, all mirrored in the still water of the lake. The affect is revealing the Greek realization of the visual power of architecture layered in a line near the waters edge.

The original opera house was designed by Soufflot in 1754, which is a land mark in the establishment of theatre as a recognizable institution in the public realm. The interior of the building has been enhanced so that the new internal space became to four floors in order to provide more space without changing the external elements. For this affect, the volume would be doubled and also allowed the ground floor to be more accessible. In addition to opening up the basement, the tour de force provided by Nouvel is a barrel vaulted roof that in one bold stroke has transformed the existing structure into a more functional and architectonic whole.

The seating capacity of the auditorium is increased from 900 to 1,300 seats, while balcony fronts faced in perforated metal sheet, with exposed stage lighting attached to them, carry through the mechanistic feel found throughout. With these serious of changes, the new art form of the opera house has equally venerated and with a big success.

Conclusion
The music venue as a part of the theatre theory has been developed over centuries. It has been revealed in different forms which from the ancient time with the classic style to the modern world with the modernism. However, no matter in which form, the seating capacity arrangement and the internal space are still very important elements for architects to consider before design it.

Reflection
Through this report I understood about how to design the music venue better, and it helps me to finish my dissertation easier. By drawing some sketches about those basic forms, the relationship of the stage to the audience is appeared clearly in front of my eyes. Moreover, I would take this opportunity to appreciate those master works which designed by such famous architects.

I believe that I would be more experienced and skilled for the similar subjects in the future. Furthermore, the sketches which are drawn by myself made me to think about the structure and functions while I was drawing them. It totally gives me the great help on my own subject when I was struggled with the structure and sections etc. It is a very helpful assignment.

Reference
Raul, B., 1994, Acoustic Performance, Architecture. p91 James, S., 1996, Theatre Builders Academy Editions, Academy Group LTD, London Roderick, H., 1987, THEATRES Planning Guidance for Design and Adapation, Association of British Theatre Technicians, London

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=walt+disney+concert+hall+los+ange les&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1600&bih=755&authuser=0&tbm=isch&t bnid=oPg1D0z15i8-LM:&imgrefurl=http://photos.igougo.com/picturesphotos-p348101Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall.html&docid=0RQHKGiOXXHiwM&imgurl=htt p://photos.igougo.com/images/p348101-Los_AngelesWalt_Disney_Concert_Hall.jpg&w=474&h=313&ei=NiphT57bM6Gs0QW KoZGHBw&zoom=1 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=walt+disney+concert+hall+los+ange les&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1600&bih=755&authuser=0&tbm=isch&t bnid=8dr1Qfric_WMjM:&imgrefurl=http://www.barrystickets.com/losa ngeles/walt-disney-concert-hall/los-angeles-philharmonictickets.php&docid=uv5QRf_6EUUvM&imgurl=http://www.barrystickets.com/images/losangeles-seatingcharts/Walt-Disney-SeatingChart.gif&w=506&h=329&ei=NiphT57bM6Gs0QWKoZGHBw&zoom=1 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Toga+Mura&um=1&hl=en&client=fi refox-a&hs=Fds&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:enGB:official&biw=1920&bih=935&authuser=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=dk_4ZV6 Kc-WiRM:&imgrefurl=http://riosloggersriodan.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html&docid=WvTOPLPC9982M&imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/AjdmCRSMSag/TlsLME_rH8I/AAAAAAAAAv8/cISejDSCz8Q/s1600/toga0.jpg&w=380&h=285&ei=yDqLT7XHMfJ0QW9ndjSCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=461&vpy=150&dur=870&hovh= 194&hovw=259&tx=161&ty=71&sig=117831097746637680257&page=1 &tbnh=136&tbnw=181&start=0&ndsp=49&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:71 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Opera+House+Lyon,+France&um=1 &hl=en&sa=N&biw=1920&bih=935&authuser=0&tbm=isch&tbnid=xddB KpP92TLPMM:&imgrefurl=http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/04/0 417_jean/source/3.htm&docid=XnjtuVtBvH1V_M&imgurl=http://image s.businessweek.com/ss/08/04/0417_jean/image/lyon.jpg&w=550&h=36 8&ei=HICLT7f2LcSm0AWVnZTKCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=350&vpy=15 3&dur=708&hovh=184&hovw=275&tx=148&ty=63&sig=1178310977466 37680257&page=1&tbnh=131&tbnw=170&start=0&ndsp=49&ved=1t:4 29,r:1,s:0,i:69

Image Reference
Available at: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=music+venue+architecture&um=1& hl=en&sa=X&authuser=0&biw=1600&bih=756&tbs=isz:l&tbm=isch&tbni d=bmiorL7wgpf7oM:&imgrefurl=http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch -showcase/2012/02/18/js-bach-chamber-music-hall-in-manchester-ukby-zaha-hadidarchitects/&docid=L9pxeLK2GaP0tM&imgurl=http://www10.aeccafe.co m/blogs/arch-showcase/files/2012/02/00021478_jsbac_phot_03.jpg&w=896&h=1000&ei=bSlZT_j2JorD0QWbq4zDD Q&zoom=1 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=music+venue+architecture&um=1& hl=en&sa=X&authuser=0&biw=1600&bih=756&tbs=isz:l&tbm=isch&tbni d=bmiorL7wgpf7oM:&imgrefurl=http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch -showcase/2012/02/18/js-bach-chamber-music-hall-in-manchester-ukby-zaha-hadidarchitects/&docid=L9pxeLK2GaP0tM&imgurl=http://www10.aeccafe.co m/blogs/arch-showcase/files/2012/02/00021478_jsbac_phot_03.jpg&w=896&h=1000&ei=bSlZT_j2JorD0QWbq4zDD Q&zoom=1 http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=walt+disney+concert+hall+los+ange les&start=63&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1600&bih=755&authuser=0&tb m=isch&tbnid=41Xyd3WE3_6WM:&imgrefurl=http://thomasmayerarchive.de/details.php%3Fimage _id%3D64578%26l%3Ddeutsch&docid=WsOkt4K8FXZovM&imgurl=http: //thomasmayerarchive.de/images/858/020AL20051019D5118/jpg/020A L20051019D5118,Architektur,Architekten,Gehry,-Frank,Disney-ConcertHall,Walt-Disney-ConcertHall.jpg&w=512&h=340&ei=H0FhT5WlKeie0QWX-dWWBw&zoom=1

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