First International Conference for PhD students in Civil Engineering CE-PhD 2012, 4-7 November 2012,Cluj-Napoca, Romania

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On Architectural Composition
COSTIN V. Alexandru
1, 2

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Civil Engineering. 15 C Daicoviciu Str., 400020, ClujNapoca, Romania

Abstract
The present article studies the evolution of the concept of composition in relation to the visual arts, the music and the architecture. The study is carried out at first from a historic point of view, providing as such a diachronic image of its evolution. The second part of the study explores the criticism addressed to the concept in specific epochs, namely in the period of Modernism and in the contemporary practice. As we will see at the end of the study, the concept of composition faced a strong criticism in the period of Modernism and it hasnt recovered yet. The possibility of the reemergence of the term is related, from the point of view of our study, by the possibility of its integration in the design process and the possibility of integration in the current critical context. The importance of this reemergence is related to the trans-disciplinary capacity of the concept which represents a central point in our study project, capacity that will be further explored in this article. Keywords: architecture and music, composition, modernism, theory, trans-disciplinary

1.

Introduction

In the current spoken language, the word composition has several meanings. It can mean a piece of music, a work of art or a certain arrangement of the parts of an object so that it can convey a specific meaning. In general, it refers to the application of rules, often in conjunction with an academic background. In this study we will search for the evolution of the term to our days in the field of architecture, thus revealing the theoretical value and the possible connections that it can make between architecture and other arts, especially music. The turning point in the perception of the term is to be found in the first decades of the XX'th century, when the modernist movement moved the architectural practice to new basis, rendering the former theories obsolete. As we will see later, the falling of the modernism didn't reestablish the preexisting theories, rather than moving to new grounds that led to the present days characterized as a postmodernist era. The evolution of the architectural domain is characterized by the tendency to interconnect with various scientific or artistic fields in an approach that can be either multi-disciplinary, transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary. The accent on the collaboration between architecture and music resides on the one hand in the similarities of organization and, on the other hand, on the prevalence of the term of composition in the later with the possibility of transfer of specific concepts.

2.

Towards a definition of the term Composition 2.1 Composition and the Visual arts

The importance of the concept of composition for the visual arts has developed throughout the history along with the development of the arts themselves. Both the concept and de disciplines

First International Conference for PhD students in Civil Engineering CE-PhD 2012, 4-7 November 2012,Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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it applies to are determined by the character of the epoch the so called weltanschauung and as such they reflect this character in specific ways. We will refer for the beginning to the Greek antiquity, for it represents a milestone for the western history and a constant model for the following periods. It is widely recognized that the philosophy held a central place to the Greek society and every aspect of life and of the world was subject to constant enquiry and debates. One of the most prominent philosopher Plato considered the world as a reflection of ideas an imperfect reflection and, as a consequence, placed the arts at the lower part of the aesthetic system that he developed, while the abstract sciences were placed at the top of this system. From this we can easily understand the importance of the rules of composition. They were the primary mean to develop an artifact and, as such, to become a vehicle for the expression of the good, of the truth and of the beautiful, or, in other words, to become a faithful expression of the idea. The rules of composition were a mathematical application and they defined the ideal proportions of an object. As we will see later in the part concerning the composition applied in the field of music or in that concerning architecture, the compositional rules are developed beyond the mere empiricism, incorporating elaborate mathematical constructions or optical corrections. This refinement is subordinate to the aesthetical principles and those principles and the philosophical ideas that govern them are the primary determinants of an artifact. Another concept related to composition in the Greek antiquity is that of chora1. Chora represents in the platonic philosophy the place that gives birth to all the things in the world or the place in which everything comes into being. Chora is a central concept along with the concepts of the idea and of the world and we can consider it as complementary to that of composition. If all the things in the world are reflections of the idea and they take place or birth in chora, then the form of the things is governed by the rules of composition. The concept of chora will reissue in the world of architectural and artistic criticism in the 20th century, along with the emergence of the deconstructivism, marked by the works of French philosopher Jacques Derrida and the American architect Peter Eisenman2. The historical periods following the Greek antiquity took the concept of composition and they applied it complying with their own weltanschauung or their own aesthetical and philosophical environment. In the Byzantine epoch the arts were subordinates to the religious world and that meant that they werent developed for seeking pleasure from the viewer but they were a mean to illustrate an idea or a material expression of a philosophical, theological or religious belief. The clearest example is that of the icons and of the rules that governed their making. A byzantine icon, far from being an underdeveloped artistic medium, was in fact a vehicle for theology. The rules of composition werent weakened by the theological rules, but rather reinforced by them. The color codes, the specific ratios, the inversed perspective are but a few among the compositional rules followed strictly in the epoch. The Renaissance saw the reemergence of the compositional rules from the Greek antiquity. Under the sign of the reemergence of the human being governed by the reason, the Renaissance artists proposed a new aesthetic system that represented a reinterpretation of that from the antiquity. In the visual arts that represented a resurrection of compositional rules based on the study of the perspective and the first color theories. The following epoch perpetuated the compositional rules of the Renaissance and, even if they reinterpreted them in particular ways, the main concern was that of applying of geometrical rules in the making of artefacts. This submission to the rules was often subject to criticism and there are many voices who considered this formalism a mere dressage, in the same time seeking for more valuable rules for the works of art. Still, in the beginning of the 20th century we find many books dealing with the rules of composition, and very specialized ones. By this time the arts would
1 2

Plato - Timaeus Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman Chora L Works

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develop in systems covering a great number of activities, and, in certain geographic regions we will find the decorative art for instance as important as the great painting, with compositional rules covering even the most elementary areas. In this context, the emergence of the modern movement is something implied. Modernism searched for and proposed a new ground for the development of the arts, based on the findings in the cognitive field, especially in psychology. The Gestalt theory is developed in this period and it represents the main method for the analysis of a work of art. In this theory the mechanisms of perception are studied thoroughly in laboratories and the rules are developed by the means of experiments and direct observation of the human behavior. The composition acquires an input from the psychological studies and the rules developed are moving from the analytic and associative empiricism of the previous eras to a scientific condition. In a few decades, the Gestalt psychology will become a well-established method, but it will also be criticized for the transformation of its methods in its scope itself, leading to an inflexible system of analysis. Rudolf Arnheim will state in one of his main books Art and visual perception that the art is in danger of drowning in too much talking, removing the viewer from the direct perception of the artistic object and putting the theory in its place. This problem will be addressed in the following decades in artistic movements such as pop-art, which will take mundane objects and will present them as works of art. The concept of composition remains to our days a valuable one in the artistic medium, even if it may be found in different places, from the classes of the art schools to the pages of the books pretending to offer the key to a successful painting or photography. If the former integrates it in a process of learning based on academic curricula, the later picks a few concepts from the past eras pre-modernist and modernist and packs them in a doubtful form.

2.2 Composition and Music

In western music the concept of composition is a central one and it represents the arrangement of the parts of a musical piece according to certain rules specific to musical form. It subordinates methods concerning the development of the melodic, rhythmic, harmonic or orchestrational aspects in a coherent piece. The discovery of the musical cords by Pythagoras set the musical composition in relation with the mathematics, reinforcing the abstract character of music. From an aesthetic point of view, the musical scales or modes were imbued with qualities that made them suitable or not for listening. In The Republic, Plato considers that listening to music in specific modes will influence people to a specific behavior, associated with it and, as such, it suggests that soldiers should listen to the music in Dorian or Phrygian modes for that will strengthen them, while avoiding the music in Lydian, Mixolydian and Ionian modes, that will have a softening effect. This association of specific modes with specific psychological states is studied by Aristotle also, who ads the influence of rhythm to the mood of the listener. The periods following that of the Greek antiquity saw the transformation of the modes in scales and the establishment of the tonal system, with tonal functions assigned to the keys, which means that each musical note had a specific importance in the tonal system. This transformation influenced the composition process as well and we see that the constituent parts of the music, namely melody, harmony and rhythm will settle in well-established forms that will continue to exist to our days. At the beginning of the twentieth century we will see a shifting in the direction of the classical music, which, by this time, would have exhausted the technical and expressive capabilities of the tonal system. The modernist period will confront with two phenomena: in the one hand, the liberalization of the arts by means of technical advances and, on the other hand, the attempts to keep the level of the classical music. The major shift in musical composition is brought by the development of electro-acoustic instruments instruments for the recording and playing of sound and instruments for generating specific synthetic sounds. If some composers will use these technical

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means in a rather classical way, exploring the technical possibilities in the generating of sounds, there are voices who would advocate the transformation of the process of composition according to new philosophies. Iannis Xenakis is one of the most prominent figures of the mid and late twentieth century composers, bringing in the musical practice new methods of composition. As Ollivier Messiaen will tell him when they will meet at the Conservatory in Paris, Xenakis had two great chances, namely that of being Greek and that of mastering the mathematics. Indeed, Xenakis will build his theoretical framework on its Greek ancestry and on the mathematical methods of statistics, group theory, game theory, composing a music completely different in form and in intent from that practiced in the Classical tradition. The link between form and musical intent is based on the Greek philosophy, and Xenakis states that classical musical forms have been corrupted and they cannot provide the purifying spiritual effect. In contrast, the exposing to a music composed by means of mathematics will convey its purity to the souls of the listeners3. The aesthetical and compositional system of Xenakis remains one of the most original ones and we can see the rehabilitation of the concept of composition when combined with the clarity of the artistic intent.

2.3 Composition and Architecture

Architecture is as tributary to composition as is music, and we can see this fact beginning with the first signs of civilization. Architecture is, for most civilizations, the book of nations, as it has the quality to withstand the action of time, carrying the legacy of its makers. This durability associated architecture with the expression of power and, from the early days, we see the emergence of the monuments constructions without practical intent, made to mark a specific moment in time and in place and, as such, to make a link between the two worlds, the mortal one and the immortal one. The development of the religious systems influenced architecture as well and we see the transposition of theological rules on the construction of religious buildings by the means of what we can call composition. The Greek antiquity developed further this approach to architecture, but instead of emphasizing the symbolic characteristics of monuments it turned its attention to its formal aspects. We can see a shift from the accent on religion to the accent on philosophy, the Greek architecture representing the image of an aesthetic system rather than that of a religious belief. The rules of composition employed in the construction of the temples and ensembles are meant to express the idea of perfection. In this respect, the architects developed compositional methods as well as optical corrections. The Romans will take the general rules of composition from the Greeks, but they will apply them with ornamental intent. We can see in this shift the separation of the two worlds the Byzantine and the Occidental with the specific differences in the approach to composition that appeared between them. While the oriental side will be inclined to the development and applying of compositional systems subordinate to the philosophical and theological ideas, the western world will see the formal part of architecture as a mean of embellishment, of providing an external beauty. The following periods Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism etc will develop the compositional methods in the way mentioned before, although we find architects searching for a deeper understanding of the spatial qualities of buildings than that of mere appearance. In Gothic, we find a focus on the techniques of construction, leading to a conquest for the heights. The composition of the cathedrals was influenced in one hand by the techniques of construction, requiring the specific bays determined by the pillars and vaults and, on the other hand, by the requirements of ritual nature, resulting in a specific succession of spaces. The Renaissance revived the imperial Roman tradition with focus on the techniques of perspective drawing, leading, as a side effect, to the simplification of the architectural mass and an
3

Iannis Xenakis Formalized Music

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scope on decoration. The following epoch developed further the art of decoration alternating between two stylistic approaches: classical and baroque. Classicism represents an established part of a style, while baroque represents the exuberant, mannerist and excessive side, a decadence of the style. As with other arts, Modernism changed the way of doing architecture by abandoning the old methods that build on visual aspects of the buildings and by incorporating a series of new inputs from various fields of science that werent till then connected to architecture. We see now the adopting of concepts from sociology, psychology, mathematics, physics, to name only a few. In this process, the old methods of developing a design based on geometrical ratios and stylistic options were replaced with functionalist solutions. Compositional methods, although different from the precedent era, still existed, but, as we will see later, the term composition disappeared from the current architectural practice. Le Corbusier proposed the regulating traces4 as the compositional aid and considered the plan as the generator of the volume. Nevertheless, as abstract, conservative and rigid as the modernist architectural rules were, the modernist architecture in itself built a specific aesthetics and expression which expressed its philosophy. In our days, architecture is split between the search for an expression and the quest for strategic qualities. The search of form is based on the developing of the computational systems, the technical advances in construction and, no less, in fashion and social medium in which it emerges. The strategic architecture studies the long-term impact of the buildings, including the materialization of the architectural intent and the correspondence between intent and client or social needs. In this respect, we believe that the concept of composition can provide a support for strategic planning, based on appropriate input methodologies.

3.

Modern and contemporary criticism

The concept of composition emerged in the seventieth century in the architectural practice and it was concerning the gathering of the formal rules for acquiring beauty in architecture. It evolved through the next centuries leading to well-formed compositional systems that appeared in manuals concerning the architectural practice. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the number of the manuals or book increased as such as they became common practice. In this context, the reaction of the modernism can be seen as a natural way of imposing a new current over a practice that have fallen in mannerism and decadence characterized by mere formalism. The modernist theory appeared, as opposed to the manuals of composition, in the so-called manifests, and, as other authors have noted5 they differed greatly in content as in the temperature of the writing. The modernist manifests condemned the old practices and, with them, the concept of composition, seen as a manner of putting together various formal aspects in an ensemble that wouldnt have anything to do with the particular needs of the people living in it. While the modernist movement failed to provide a complete answer to the social problems of the time, the following periods didnt see an explicit resurrection of the concept of composition. Even today we find articles dealing with the concept that are studying the causes of the disappearing but dont find or dont look for way for reestablishing it. The motives resides in the general orientation of the field, which was dealing with the problems of ecology and now searches for solutions of strategic nature, answering to the questions of new social and economic problems. In this context, the presence of the term is something insignificant and it is hardly to see a reemergence to the scale it was a century ago.
4

Traces regulatoires As described in this early work of Le Corbusier Vers une architecture nouvelle, the regulating traces represent, along with the plan, the main compositional means for the developing of the shape of the building and of its elements: the volume, the windows and the doors etc. 5 Collin Rowe Character and Composition; or Some Vicissitudes of Architectural Vocabulary in the Nineteenth Century

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4.

A possible rehabilitation of the term

The scope on architectural composition of the present article resides, as we stated in the beginning, in the possibility of transfer of concepts between the musical practice and the architectural one. The approach isnt new and we can find several examples of successful collaboration between different artistic domains. If some are established as common practices ballet or film for instance some artistic practices are relatively new to the cultural scene. We can begin by mentioning the Philips Pavilion at the World Fair Expo 58 in Brussels, where architecture, music and image film represented a holistic experience under the guidance of Le Corbusier, Iannis Xenakis and Edgar Varese. Xenakis explored further the relation between spatial, visual and acoustical medium in its Politopes, complex compositions of sound and light relying heavily on technology. Today we can see the emergence of cultural practices under the name of happenings, which usually combine a few artistic practices. The study of the relation between architecture and music or between space and sound can be developed in many directions as it can be easily sensed. The juxtaposition of the three elements architecture, music and composition conducts in our case to the study of the nature and relevance of compositional practices during the design phases of the project. In this approach we study the relevance of several theories, beginning with Gestalt theories and continuing with the generative theories or grammars based on the linguistic theories of Noam Chomsky. A Generative Theory of Tonal Music provides an example of musical theoretical framework that analyses music from a different point of view, providing a better structure for the understanding of musical intent. The scope of the reemergence of the concept of composition is to provide a valid instrument for the process of design. By the validity of the concept we understand the close integration in the creative process and, by that, an adequacy to the field of the design. In other words, we study the possibility that the concept of composition is intrinsic to the design process and by this it integrates thoroughly in it. The trans-disciplinary approach seeks to establish appropriate concepts inside the music theory and to integrate them in an appropriate way.

5.

Conclusions

In this short study we have shown the evolution of the relation that composition holds with several arts and by that to establish a possible reuse of the term in contemporary practice, in the context of our doctoral study. The importance of this terminological clarification resides in its capacity to narrow the semantic field of the concept and, by that, to conduct the research in the desired direction. The study can be carried further and can become a scope in itself, but we feel that the main use of it is that of bringing in the discussion the several valences of the term and to choose those that are most appropriate, while in the same time clarifying the context in which the concept will operate. We are certain that the further study of the theoretical framework of the doctoral study will bring new data to this demarche and, presumably, it will alter its present meaning, but we hope that this alteration will mean a further narrowing of the field of the concept and, as such, an increased precision of the theory.

6.

References

[1] Arnheim, Rudolf. Arta i Percepia Vizual. 2nd ed. Iai: Polirom, 2011. [2] Lerdahl, Fred, Ray Jackendoff. O teorie generativ a muzicii tonale. Cluj-Napoca: Arpeggione, 2011. [3] Rowe, Collin. The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa and Other Essays. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The MIT Press, 1982 [4] Van Pelt, John Vredenburgh. A Discussion of Composition Especially as Applied to Architecture. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1902 [5] Xenakis, Iannis. Formalized Music. Stuyvesant NY: Pendragon Press, 1992.