Critic: Fred Biehle

Pratt Institute | 2012-2013
 

There is one thing that distinguishes the professionals from the amateurs and that is practice. We practice to strive for what we believe to  be “perfection.” Perfection is almost impossible to reach, but the intent is evident. It requires motivation, knowledge of the subject matter, feedback, consistency, and most importantly, repetition. It is repetition that becomes the ever existing theme not only in music, but in almost every aspect of life and the creative culture. Repetition acts as the driving force of practice with the intent of perfection but with the result of compromise and adaption in response to 
the parametrics of accidents to eventually formulate an entirely new idea.

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When we repeat we become familiar with a particular form, idea, sound, etc. When that repetition begins to respond to external stimuli, the form begins to alter. That process of adaptation within repetition is what formulates parametric design. An excess of a repeated idea in its altered forms can result in a chaotic representation. However, when broken back down into its basic elements, we can identify the simple structure that forms its parts. The repeated rhythmic patterns that alter after certain intervals create the parameters that drive the entire work. What appears to be random actually contains a very clear strategy. In order to avoid becoming ‘lost’ in a repeated work, we begin to eliminate or highlight particular elements so that when experiencing the work as a whole, we can identify what’s really important within its larger context. Over time, the repeated work will continue to strive for society’s idea of perfection. 

“Perfection” is entirely subjective. What one may perceive to be perfect can be redundant in another’s interpretation of the word. When a piece is practiced, and repeated, and repeated again, the musician begins to learn the music according to what sounds right to them. Musicians may still revert to the sounds of traditional or classical music, but unconsciously evolve the sound to fit into the context of contemporary society. Architecture provides that context and ultimately manipulates the way in which we perceive the sound. In new architecture, we create innovation within music. It’s through repetition of that new and innovative music within a community that allows the music to succeed in 
breaching the social boundary of tradition. Through practice and repetition of new music, an imperfect community of musicians and listeners can adapt, evolve, and strive for an ever changing idea of perfection.

BAM cultural district is an area for the Avant Garde yet lacks an architectural identity as an urban strategy. What was previously a densely populated site became a site of vacant lots converted to parking lots. My proposal was to repopulated the site with a series of multi-use buildings that bring back the density of the site and to re-inhabit the space with cultural program as well as a commercial and public park for both the cultural community as well as the community of Downtown Brooklyn.  

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To accommodate the culture of music, what architecture would embody the idea of practice? The Breaking Boundaries Institute for Experimental Music was proposed as a portion of the larger cultural district to set an example for an architectural strategy that will inspire innovation in music. This building, located at the corner of Ashland Place and Lafayette Avenue, applies a similar method of repeated geometry as the initial drawing studies but begins to eliminate the excess and emphasizes
certain areas that have the potential to accommodate a variety of programmatic space. 

While existing of a similarity of forms that provide for a cohesive design, the distinct differentiation between each space is where the music potential occurs. Program is used as the force which alters and manipulates the repeated form with the result of an architecture made almost entirely of circulation and a hierarchy of space. This circulation is the space of practice. Residual space becomes a public space and essentially performance space. However, what distinguishes performance and practice can also be arbitrary in a school such as this. No set narrative of experiences occurs, but instead this becomes a building of potential space for practice.