RELOOKING SOUND AND ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

What really sparked the basis for this dissertation was a series of sermons by a pastor Dan Mc Cullum from Bethel Church, Redding, California about sound. He talked about its creative and destructive properties by looking at the physics of sound because they ultimately point to the Christian God as the creator of the Earth. These sermons were the starting point from which I wondered if sound and architecture could be understood from a radically different perspective. Although the basis for this dissertation starts from a Christian sermon, the facts and studies that were used came from scientifically proven phenomena related to sound. This dissertation will address what the architect’s current understanding of architecture and sound is. Following that, I would be briefly explaining that how ultimately all matter is essentially a vibration and therefore is subject to resonance. By bringing in contemporary theoretical physics like the string theory, I want to show that Newton’s postulation about the wave-particle properties of matter is not just applicable to light but to all matter. The next part of the dissertation would look at the science of cymatics, resonance and entrainment using case studies and repeatable experiments to show how invisible sound has structure and is capable of altering the physical properties of materials. Even more than that, I hope to bring forth a suggestion that resonant architecture could be a means to generate an inexhaustible source of energy so that we can design carbon neutral buildings that are capable of generating their own electrical source of energy just from sound.