Course Information
AAE 495 / AAE 695 — Special Topics in Architectural Design
Saturdays, 10:00 AM – 12:45 PM, ARC 152
Associate Professor Deborah Oakley
This elective course presumes little or no prior background in music or the ability to play an instrument!
Do you enjoy music? Do you enjoy architecture? Then this may be for you! This is a new elective class intended to broaden the experience of architecture students into the allied arts of music and animation.
Architecture and music share many concepts at their core. Elements of music including tone, tonal relationships (melody), tones together (harmony), harmony in sequence (progressions), progressions collected (music or songs), rhythm, repetition, dynamics, consonance, dissonance, etc. can each be seen as having counterparts in architecture. Indeed, the fundamental principles of design such as unity, balance, emphasis and focal point are common among all art forms. This class will explore these and other concepts in service to creative expression.
In this course, students who may have little or no musical background will learn the essentials of music theory presented from a powerful yet easily grasped perspective. If you already play an instrument (at any skill level) here’s a chance to deepen your understanding. If you don’t play an insturment, here’s a chance to learn essential principles that will open your eyes to a deeper understanding of musical structures.
Participants will learn the fundamentals of the acclaimed open-source 3D computer animation software Blender to create animated visualizations. Collaborative student teams will create musically narrated animated audio-visual interpretations of architectural and structural principles embodied in the constructed and natural world. The resultant projects will be shared in video format, including the possibility for presentation at a future College of Fine Arts Art Walk event.
Click here for the preliminary course syllabus, which will be refined prior to the class. Have questions? Email Professor Oakley.
An example of a musically-expressed animation of the type that will be explored in this class can be seen in this video by the Norwegian Blender artist Asbjørn Lote who goes by “Polyfjord” on YouTube. Work produced in this class will be of that character, but architectural in nature.
Come join me for this first offering of an exciting, engaging and educational learning experience!
