Third Place Winner
The Amphitheater of Time and Space
Design by
Kyle Zimmerman, Michelle Mack & Jun Lee
Simple, yet beautifully elegant and sensitive.
I really enjoyed the description and spatial interpretation of chosen composition.
-Sunanda Satwah
It's interesting to use 24 boulders to represent 24 hours in the day. The form of two structures look a little bit weird and too much for me, but make sense from sectional perspective.
-Xudong Zhu
Kyle Zimmerman, Michelle Mack & Jun Lee
Hi, my name is Kyle Zimmerman and with my colleagues Michelle Mack and Jun Lee we make up 123°W Design Collective. We are a team of creatives who work on architecture projects that are at the intersection of art, design, and research. We decided to enter the Aural Architecture Design Competition because it fit perfectly with the type of work we like to do. This competition was an opportunity for us to step out of our comfort zone of traditional building design and dive headfirst into how sound plays into the design process, which is a really unique experience.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
Design Overview:
• Could you provide a brief description of your winning design? What were the key elements and concepts you incorporated?
Our entry into the competition was called The Amphitheatre of Time and Space based on the music of Michael Kobrin’s “The Introvert”. The space features two prominent structures, that we named Life and Death, that encapsulate a small orchestra pit and interpretive area within a park-like setting. The space is both a metaphorical representation of the song and a literal venue in which to perform the music. We loved this idea of creating a sound stage inspired by a song and the evolution through our process led us to think about how music is such a big part of the human experience. To glorify the song’s feeling, we wanted to create these large organic structures that give the visitors a feeling of awe in the space. We were also inspired by the song itself how it created a feeling of journey for the listener so we played on this idea of the journey one takes from life to death and how this can be simplified into traveling through time and space, hence the name of the amphitheatre.
Research and Inspiration:
• What research methods did you employ to understand the relationship between architecture and sound? Were there any particular sources or case studies that influenced your design?
We spent a lot of time upfront studying the music in this competition to try and understand the artists purpose for making the music and what they were trying to convey through the piece. For the form of the architecture, the song lent itself to a very organic and evolutionary feel, so we knew we wanted to use non-standard building practices to create these large, almost alien figures that could be used to capture imagination and inspire visitors to the amphitheatre. The two main structures, Life and Death, symbolize the beginning and end of the traveller’s journey through the space. The structures are familiar to each other in shape, but different in how they are used within the area. For the function of the amphitheatre, Life is elongated to project sounds from the orchestra pit out towards the centre of the space whereas Death rises up like a wave and keeps the sound from escaping. The two structures are in constant opposition to each other but achieve harmony through the acoustic design of the park. The park area includes other metaphorical substances to guide the traveller through the continual ebb and flow of life. Large sand pendulums hang from Death to symbolize the perceived control of time. Four of them mark the changing of the seasons. Additionally, large boulders surround the orchestra pit to be used as seating for an audience. There are 24 boulders to represent the 24 hours in the day.
Personal Reflection:
• How has participating in this competition and winning affected your perspective on the importance of sound in architecture and design? Have you discovered any new passions or areas of interest through the process of designing for aural architecture?
Through the experience of participating in this competition we were inspired by the potential to design more with sound as a driving requirement in the design process. We think that sound and the control of noise is an often-overlooked importance in the design process. As designers we tend to think of sound as an output of a space but we rarely plan for sound in the early design. If we think about city streets, office spaces, even our own homes, the balance of sound can make or break a space and going forward, designing for sound will be a main component of how we step into the design process.
Advice for Aspiring Designers:
• What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are interested in exploring aural architecture or entering similar competitions? Based on your experience, what are the key elements that make a design stand out in a competition of this nature?
For other architects or designers looking to break into the aural architecture space, I would recommend spending time in some of your favourite locations in your city and make notes about what the sound is doing in these spaces that make them so great. In school we were taught about acoustics from a very mathematical basis, but we rarely investigate the feelings created by sound. The volume, tone, clarity, and harmonics of a space are vitally important to mental health. As we discover more about how much noise plays a key role in our anxiety, our happiness, our energy, and our comfort levels, we as designers need to spend more effort in understanding the outcomes of our actions in regard to acoustics and sound control.
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