Description
Book SynopsisThis book explores the value of the musical concept of “agogics” – the modification of regular rhythm to enhance expressive potential – in understanding urban spatial configurations within the current technological context and in developing urban maps that exploit sonic signals to create an open learning framework. The book starts by discussing the meaning and significance of agogics in the musical and artistic realm, with reference to the work of Adolphe Appia, Emile-Jaques Dalcroze, and Iannis Xenakis, among others. Its relevance to cartography and mapping is then examined, taking into account the contributions of Ian McHarg, Bill Hillier, Mark Shepard, and Robin Minard. The nature and value of agogic maps, for example in fostering awareness of place and effective organization of spatial development, are described in detail, with reference to case studies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Segrate, Italy. It is explained how agogic maps take advantage of innovative categories and scripting equipment to provide a new mapping instrument for spatial and urban configurations, highlighting the interdependence between aural signals and spatial variables. This book will be of interest to architects, urbanists, and musicians with a specific interest in space and sound design.
Table of ContentsAgogic in music: The practice of rhythm, from music to space and backward.- Agogic in space: A scenario for the Gesamtkustwerk.- Agogic and the space “undulated”.- Urban spectrographies and the problem of orientation in sensitive territories.- Space-script construction: Three phases in a topographic transformation of sound and visual material.- Euphony: Dissonances for a modern urban environment. Accessibility as the temperament of signals and impulses.- The role of sound maps: A “modern” paradigm in space design.- Urban sampling, two case studies: Reconstructing the inhabitation model through an aural imaginary.- The agogic script. Interdependency between aural signals and spatial variables.
