The happy marriage of site and sound presents a daunting challenge. Does the music serve the space or is it the other way around? Victoria Newhouse takes on both questions, addressing issues of aesthetics and acoustics in concert halls and opera houses of the past, present, and future.
A companion to the highly regarded Towards a New Museum,
Site and Sound examines structures built specifically for musical performance. Newhouse, a noted author and architectural historian, covers exceptional opera houses and concert halls, historic and contemporary, around the world. Heavily illustrated throughout–with historic images, spectular color photographs, detailed drawings–this volume is an informed and enjoyable presentation of a building type that is at the heart of cities small and large.
Newhouse starts with a survey of venues from ancient Greek and Roman times and progresses to contemporary works around the world. She singles out Lincoln Center in particular for its long history and its transitions and remodelings over the years. Two major chapters cover the present: one focuses on recent work in the West, including the National Opera House of Norway in Oslo by Snohetta (2008), the Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal, by Rem Koolhaas (2005), and many more; the second examines the boom in concert halls in China. A final chapter looks at projects that are currently planned and the future of an architecture for music.