The Winners!
AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
First Prize Winners
Silin Wang, Zhiqi Shen & Yiwen Cai
China
Silin Wang: I’ve just finished my bachelor degree of design in architecture. I have an enthusiasm for exploring the relationship between nature, culture, humanity and architecture. I have also studied the cultural and historical background of aboriginal Australians and designed relevant projects about them at university. I am really keen on drawing and photography that deepen my understanding of space, colors and lighting, contributing to my expertise on architecture.
Zhiqi Shen: I am Zhiqi, I am an architecture graduate from China. During my school years, I have participated in many China Rural Architecture Design Competitions and got very good results. In the process, I gained a lot of experience and knowledge about the construction of rural buildings. In my daily life, I am happy to capture the beautiful moments in life with my camera, and I believe that the significance of photography is the same as that of architecture, which can bring warmth and touch to people.
Yiwen Cai: I am going to be a fifth-grade architectural student next semester, and planning to study abroad after graduation. I believe that architecture is a language that penetrates into the lives of each person and designers themselves, It is like the human senses, which serves as a receiver and also a transmitter between inner self and outer self. I am interested in observing the emotional and mental changes brought by this language as an architect, and I hope to keep practicing with the use of this language in my continuous design.
FIRST PRIZE WINNER
FIRST PRIZE WINNER
FIRST PRIZE WINNER
FIRST PRIZE WINNER
Research and Inspiration:
What research methods did you employ to understand the relationship between architecture and sound? Were there any particular sources or case studies that influenced your design?
Zhiqi Shen: We explore the connections between music, emotion and architectural space through audio visualization. The audio visualization was carried out with the help of GH and the emotional symbols corresponding to the different architectural elements were extracted. Ultimately we strung together spaces to form a short journey of strolling. Peter Zumthor attaches great importance to the sensory experience brought by architecture. He once said, "Space will not respond to your sight, but it will reflect your voice.". His designs for the spa baths in Wals, Switzerland, and the church of St Benedict have inspired much of our architectural language.
Personal Reflection:
How has participating in this competition and winning affected your perspective on the importance of sound in architecture and design? Have you discovered any new passions or areas of interest through the process of designing for aural architecture?
Yiwen Cai: When people walk into an architecture. They may savour the charm of the space through the five senses. Sound as one of the five senses, on one hand we construct architectural space by using the information in sound; on the other hand we complement our senses by travelling through different architectural spaces. It is no doubt that there are still many possibilities waiting to be explored in the field of auditory architectural design: for example, adding interactive sound devices in buildings to provide deaf people with a possibility to perceive the world; or combining the other senses to promote the generation of architectural space.
How does it feel to win the Aural Architecture 2023 Design Competition? Any final thoughts or messages you would like to share with the audience?
Silin Wang: Well, I think it is a really interesting and enjoyable design experience. This award gives me much more confidence on architecture, and it is regarded as a new step for me to explore music and buildings. I’m so glad to meet good teammates and we cooperate closely in the planning and designing this project. I think I have learned a lot from my teammates during brainstorming. It is a very nice cooperation!
Zhiqi Shen: For winning the first prize in this competition, I felt the inclusiveness and attractiveness of the field of architecture as a discipline. I hope that everyone will enjoy this journey with architecture and enjoy the process.
Yiwen Cai: I am very lucky to have met my two teammates through this chance, and it is fortunate to have gained such a satisfying result while experiencing an enjoyable design process. I am thankful that this award has inspired me to express my design concepts, and I am looking forward to design something even more stirring in the future!
Second Prize Winners
Tiago Pires
Portugal
Name: Tiago Miguel Jorge Pires
Age: 22
Location: Torres Novas, Portugal
University: 5th year, Universidade da Beira Interior, Portugal
Project name: Melody Gallery, The Introvert Exposition
SECOND PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
SECOND PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
Introduction
Can you please introduce yourself and share a bit about your background in architecture and/or design? What inspired you to participate in the Aural Architecture 2023 Design Competition?
Hello! My name Tiago Pires and I am a student in 5th year of Architecture Design at the University of Beira Interior in Portugal. I've always had a strong connection to the field of construction, influenced by my father, which has further developed my passion for architecture. However, during these 5 years of learning I have come to understand that architecture it´s really challenging, especially in picture the future and exploring new approaches in the design process. When I was 9 years old, I started to study Music, I exercise it about 7 years, so I always have been passionate with this two arts. With that in mind, I have chosen Architecture and Music as the focus of my dissertation and explore the relationships they share, which I am presently developing. So that’s what inspired me to being part of this competition.
Design Overview:
Could you provide a brief description of your winning design? What were the key elements and concepts you incorporated?
The Melody Gallery consists on a cultural space of mutual relationships between architecture and music, with the aim to attract artist from these two arts and those who are passionate about them. The design of the building arises from a perfect circular shape with an open air Amphitheatre in the center. The main area of the building provides a temporary gallery space, in order to create temporary abstract exhibitions that relate and express different music.
The Introvert Exposition was inspired by the music piece Introvert by Michael Kobrin organized in the gallery space of Melody Gallery. The exhibition begins with a creation of a path, this one related to the timeline of the music, in order to connect Music and Time with Architecture and Space. This path has 8 different spaces, with each space representing different chapter of the music and evoking emotions based on my interpretation. All the spaces and materials of the design are connected with mutual concepts of Architecture and Music, such as Proportion, Rhythm, and Emotion.
Research and Inspiration
What research methods did you employ to understand the relationship between architecture and sound? Were there any particular sources or case studies that influenced your design?
Since I am doing a research on the relationship between Music and Architecture I am doing a lot of exploration on the matter. But more specifically to this project I think there is a quote by Le Corbusier that defines my design, he said once by the name of J. Caron that “organizing the volumes that appear in succession to the spectators who move from room to room is the same as a composer does when ordering the successive parts of a musical composition”. There were another Architects that inspired my design like Iannis Xenakis and Steven Holl with the Stretto House.
Personal Reflection:
How has participating in this competition and winning affected your perspective on the importance of sound in architecture and design? Have you discovered any new passions or areas of interest through the process of designing for aural architecture?
Being part of these competition has greatly reinforced my belief in the importance of music and feelings in architecture and design. Through the process of designing, I have discovered a newfound passion for creating temporary exhibitions, especially in exploring the dynamic interplay between music, space and emotions. It has sparked my interest into the field of sensory design and exploring the full potential of multisensory experiences in architecture design.
Third Prize Winners
Kyle Zimmerman, Michelle Mack & Jun Lee
U.S.
Hi, my name is Kyle Zimmerman and with my colleagues Michelle Mack and Jun Lee we make up 123°W Design Collective. We are a team of creatives who work on architecture projects that are at the intersection of art, design, and research. We decided to enter the Aural Architecture Design Competition because it fit perfectly with the type of work we like to do. This competition was an opportunity for us to step out of our comfort zone of traditional building design and dive headfirst into how sound plays into the design process, which is a really unique experience.
THIRD PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
THIRD PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
THIRD PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
THIRD PRIZE WINNER_AURAL ARCHITECTURE 2023
Design Overview:
• Could you provide a brief description of your winning design? What were the key elements and concepts you incorporated?
Our entry into the competition was called The Amphitheatre of Time and Space based on the music of Michael Kobrin’s “The Introvert”. The space features two prominent structures, that we named Life and Death, that encapsulate a small orchestra pit and interpretive area within a park-like setting. The space is both a metaphorical representation of the song and a literal venue in which to perform the music. We loved this idea of creating a sound stage inspired by a song and the evolution through our process led us to think about how music is such a big part of the human experience. To glorify the song’s feeling, we wanted to create these large organic structures that give the visitors a feeling of awe in the space. We were also inspired by the song itself how it created a feeling of journey for the listener so we played on this idea of the journey one takes from life to death and how this can be simplified into traveling through time and space, hence the name of the amphitheatre.
Research and Inspiration:
• What research methods did you employ to understand the relationship between architecture and sound? Were there any particular sources or case studies that influenced your design?
We spent a lot of time upfront studying the music in this competition to try and understand the artists purpose for making the music and what they were trying to convey through the piece. For the form of the architecture, the song lent itself to a very organic and evolutionary feel, so we knew we wanted to use non-standard building practices to create these large, almost alien figures that could be used to capture imagination and inspire visitors to the amphitheatre. The two main structures, Life and Death, symbolize the beginning and end of the traveller’s journey through the space. The structures are familiar to each other in shape, but different in how they are used within the area. For the function of the amphitheatre, Life is elongated to project sounds from the orchestra pit out towards the centre of the space whereas Death rises up like a wave and keeps the sound from escaping. The two structures are in constant opposition to each other but achieve harmony through the acoustic design of the park. The park area includes other metaphorical substances to guide the traveller through the continual ebb and flow of life. Large sand pendulums hang from Death to symbolize the perceived control of time. Four of them mark the changing of the seasons. Additionally, large boulders surround the orchestra pit to be used as seating for an audience. There are 24 boulders to represent the 24 hours in the day.
Personal Reflection:
• How has participating in this competition and winning affected your perspective on the importance of sound in architecture and design? Have you discovered any new passions or areas of interest through the process of designing for aural architecture?
Through the experience of participating in this competition we were inspired by the potential to design more with sound as a driving requirement in the design process. We think that sound and the control of noise is an often-overlooked importance in the design process. As designers we tend to think of sound as an output of a space but we rarely plan for sound in the early design. If we think about city streets, office spaces, even our own homes, the balance of sound can make or break a space and going forward, designing for sound will be a main component of how we step into the design process.
Advice for Aspiring Designers:
• What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are interested in exploring aural architecture or entering similar competitions? Based on your experience, what are the key elements that make a design stand out in a competition of this nature?
For other architects or designers looking to break into the aural architecture space, I would recommend spending time in some of your favourite locations in your city and make notes about what the sound is doing in these spaces that make them so great. In school we were taught about acoustics from a very mathematical basis, but we rarely investigate the feelings created by sound. The volume, tone, clarity, and harmonics of a space are vitally important to mental health. As we discover more about how much noise plays a key role in our anxiety, our happiness, our energy, and our comfort levels, we as designers need to spend more effort in understanding the outcomes of our actions in regard to acoustics and sound control.
Special mention
Jiaheng Xu
China
Jiaheng Xu
China
Honorable mention
Yulin Yang & Xinyue Wang
Zhengji Sun & Zihan Luo
Han Ruobing
Yulin Yang & Xinyue Wang
China
Zhengji Sun & Zihan Luo
China
Han Ruobing
China
