Spatial Design ● Transdisciplinary Research ● Product Design
Search engines provide some form of answer to any question, similarly to religious texts. The introduction of the network computer — much like the printing press — have widely disrupted the mediatic landscape, and as a result, the social order. This social order is reflected in spatial practice — and in architecture. This project is interested in proposing an innovative digital media practice that pairs with an innovative spatial proposal.
The innovative media practice and spatial proposal are rooted in emerging science about waves and wellness. Quantum mechanics teaches us that "sound is not something merely projected into a space" and "space is not merely sound’s container" (Shannon Mattern). Sound, space, and the human body share the commonality of being waves. "Everything is a wave;" electrons are waves; wave is the fundamental entity of both bodies and movement.
Sounds are waves that we are heard. Many waves are not perceptive by our ears but felt by our overall body, informing our nervous system and intuition. The diagram below illustrates the threshold of hearing.
The human brain's activity is also powered by waves. They can be recorded with an EEG system. The intensity of brain waves corresponds precisely to certain feelings and experiences. The diagram below details these relationships.
By wearing a brain sensor, human brain waves can be made intelligible to the person producing them via a digital wristband. This biofeedback can serve to understand one's state of mind.
Frequency 8 is a most calm brain vibration, associated with wellness. It can be induced by sound that have this frequency. This finding will inform the spatial concept for the spatial intervention.
Musical instruments can be scaled up to the size of building and inhabited. Inhabiting spaces that induced Frequency 8 can enable wellness. At least that's the hypothesis behind this spatial proposal.
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Located within a constellation of retreat spaces focused on wellness and community, Frequency 8 is a 2 hour ride aware from Manhattan.
The eight diagrams below detail the property, circulation, landform, and spatial methodologies used to deploy the program throughout the site.
The induction pavilion welcomes visitors to Frequency 8 and orients them throughout the space. Administrative offices are headquartered here. A bell is located in each of the four corners, echoing throughout the doubly slanted space.
The instrument is the heart of spiritual life. Its double chamber creates the strongest sound of all the eight buildings. At the heart is a brass singing bowl, activated by a rotating wooden element that makes the supersized bowl vibrate at various frequencies, including frequency 8.
A space for conviviality focused on eating, Mess Hall is a square loggia structured around a courtyard. In a corner is a gong that is rung to indicate visitors that meals are ready.
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The media mecca is a place to consume music, movies, books, media of all sorts. It is a round drum separated into eight chambers linked by a metal ring. A metallic hammer dings against the metal ring and the sound echoes throughout the drum.
The body temple is a place to work out, swim, enjoy a spa treatment, and lounge. Partly located above the lake, it has an interior waterfall, which echoes throughout the roud space.
Two horns mirror each other to create a viewing platform. At each end is an pressurizing mechanism that turns each horn into a wind instrument.
In plan view, a circle that becomes a square serves to accommodate residential needs for visitors at Frequency 8. The checkered facade creates passive cooling and gives each room a unique view.
The central shaft features a closed vertical spiraling space closely latticed with wooden beams. Rocks fall down this wooden filigree, forming a fluid but dry sound that softly tickles the ear.
The house of expression is tucked to the side of the site. It is a studio of sorts, a place to produce 'content' to be seen by others.
Its architecture forms a single horn, which amplifies the sound of a quartz singing bowl, creating an overall atmosphere that is both strange and calm.
The photo of the physical model below shows the massing for the house of expression 3d printed and spray painted gold.
This short video illustrates the experience of leaving New York City for a day of retreat at Frequency 8. The sound is an instrumental version of Kanye West's Ultralight Beam.
'Le chêne,' pronounced [leuh-sheh-n' means oak tree in French, my native language.
