Towards a complex minimal architecture through twentieth-century music

• Main Author: Powell, James
• Other Authors: Casbarian, John
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Architecture; Music
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1911/14028

This thesis formulates a general theory of a complex minimal architecture, then achieves an initial manifestation by applying concepts and modulatory operations of twentieth-century music to the design of a concrete architectural object. Complex minimalism involves the precise selection of a minimal number of concepts or forms, to which are applied a limited number of transformational processes in the service of generating a rich and meaningful architecture. Starting with the fundamental notions of coalescence, the cloud, and comma, several sound-matter techniques of composition are analyzed, abstracted, and distilled. These notions, which include structure and ratio, are used in the selection of the materials and processes of the design project, resulting in a soft, translucent architecture of simplicity and spirit.