RESONANCE II: Portable Concert Hall for Phillip Glass:

Note: Participation in Professor Mori\’s fall 2010 course is a prerequisite. Contact Professor Mori for additional information. This independent research seminar is a three semester study to build a portable concert hall for Phillip Glass in the summer of 2012. The prototype will be situated in Carmel California. This project is an extension of mid term project for the Resonance Studio of fall 2010. The performance in this concert hall is a collaborative project with Youth Orchestra of Americas. YOA offers music fellowships and opportunities to talented youths in under served communities. In addition they train the youths to be the future leaders of society through performing and teaching of music. The major challenge for YOA is creating an access to music both for the players and the audience. It has an ambition to reach remote places of the world to engage under served and fragile communities with music. The research of this seminar is to explore this new building typology that responds to acoustic criteria as well as conditions of climate while remaining portable for multiple modes of transportation. The seminar will explore different materials, fabrication methods and localities, adapting to various levels of available techniques, technology and economy. The range of exploration will include low tech production in remote communities using local resources and hand craft to high tech potential for developed countries using new materials with digital production. The locations we will explore are: Northern California, Nova Scotia, South America, Sub Saharan Africa, Holland and New York City. We will look into three modes of fabrication: hand made, machine made and digital production and a prototype will be tested in those modes of fabrication. Transportation methods will include cars, trucks, airplanes, boats, bicycles, and horse or donkey carts. Research will also look into the issues of portability where modular construction or inventive folding/ unfolding or packing/ unpacking techniques will allow most appropriate and sustainable means of transporting concert hall from one location to the other. Schedule:The seminar will meet every other week and we will also meet in New York City to work with Phillip Glass organization and Arup Engineers.Spring 2011: semester to explore formal possibilities and assembly techniques, while setting up acoustical and portable criteria.Summer 2011: material exploration and engineering assessment for structure and in response to acoustics and weather conditions.Fall 2011: testing of materials and assembly for different locations and pricing of the project: mock up productionSpring 2012: Prototype production