A New Stage

A Collaboration_ARC 311 + TF3

On Friday morning, November 11th, each group presented their work thus far toTime for Three during a Skype meeting. Each group produced drawings, collages, and/or models in order to get their ideas across. These are the proposals for the SCREEN and ROD groups. Please see the last three groups on the following posts. 

 Screen group images: 

1: Concept

2: Material ideas.

3: Perspective.

4: Possible Campus Venues for Pop-Up

Rod Group Images: 

1. Design Development.

2. Plan/Axonometric/Elevation

3. Collage and Material Study.

4. Design Inspiration.

On Friday, October 28th, we had a formal pin-up with a jury; everyone in the class had to present sketches, collages, pictures, or models of their ideas to show to the jury and the class. These are pictures from this presentation.

  After the pin-up, the jury gathered and laid out the teams based on the parallels they saw in all the work presented. The groups are as follows:

1. Blocks—a volumetric unit that can be aggregated/stacked/piled to produce a varying platform and/or screen. Each unit would be very similar - like a brick to use a simple example - but when combined, would give a complex and meaningful result.)

2. Rods—similar to blocks - a unit that’s aggregated to - but with a more slender profile. Because of this, these “rods” can create a hierarchy of space.

3. State Change—this is a more heterogeneous group - one that will investigate how a stage can undergo a “transformation” of some sort. Perhaps this is merely a “flat pack” idea tied to assembly, or maybe it’s a more dynamic aesthetic proposition about how the structure changes during the performance.

4. Platform—a single platform for musicians to stand on during performances. How does the platform suggest certain outcomes? Does it array the performers in a unique manner? Does it elevate them…and the audience? Does it have a vertical component. Is it operable?) (eventually merges with the “State Change” group)

5. Screen—a screen proposition that foregrounds the role of the vertical. Perhaps this means that the screen is operable and pliable. Is it made of a lattice-like material. Does it aggregate into a large whole for the final performance?

Given these group assignments, groups began getting together to incorporate each other’s ideas into one more-complete idea for another meeting with Time for Three on November 11th. 

Meeting Time for Three: 10/14/11

On Friday morning—October 14th—Time for Three came to our lecture to play a couple songs, introduce themselves to us, discuss their needs, constraints, and ideas, and begin a conversation about this project.

Here is a video of our session: http://www.youtube.com/user/puconcerts#p/a/u/0/KwaQKeIGOZo

Most important were the constraints they laid out:

1. Stay within budget.

2. The set needs to amplify their sound and be very capable acoustically. Without proper projection, the music won’t sound complete and important parts will go missing.

3. Pop-up stage can’t be outside; the trio requires a floor, temperate climate to protect the instruments, and no direct sunlight or precipitation.

4. Must perform in high volume spaces so that the pop-performances act as a tease to get people to buy tickets for the March 7th show.

5. Bassist can’t a do a lot of movement; mostly static. Keep this in mind with set design.

6. Optics are an important part of the performance—the trio depend on one another throughout their shows. Their communication with one another becomes a performance in itself.

Next, the trio laid out some of their ideas and thoughts that helped us to make our first sketches:

1. They used Circus Soleil as an exemplary stage-set idea: the Circus doesn’t just rent out a space to perform in, but the performance space becomes an entire experience from the inside to the outside. They imagine an onstage experience that’s never happened in music before.

2. The stage set will speak of the group’s character—it should be specific to Time for Three only.

3. They are de-constructionalists: Classical music elements are the roots, but Time for Three adds their own flare—“bad boys of Classical music?” Can we capture this image in a stage set? Maybe the stage set will be completely un-classical, because according to Ranaan, the instruments “scream classical just on their own.” 

4. Create an active experience with the audience and maybe even an unexpected one: similar to the current flash-mob idea—maybe these performances will break down barriers through surprise, interruption, or even irritation. A type of rebellious performance around our campus—no one knows where or when Time for Three is coming.

5. Living room effect: use light to engage audience with the performers and make a connection. Time for Three expressed how much they feed off of their audiences: they perform better with a strong connection between themselves and their guests.  

We left this meeting with many ideas to begin working on sketches that would be presented on October 28th in front of a jury, including—Paul Lewis, John Hunter, Ryan Johns, and Matthew Clarke. These sketches also included a brainstorm with one another about WHERE these pop-up stages could actually occur on campus. 

The Beginning: 9/16/11

Welcome to Princeton University’s Architecture 311—Building Science and Technology—class project site! As Architecture majors at Princeton, we are all required to take ARC 311 in order to complete our major, but unlike other years, we were given a special opportunity to learn what it’s like to work with a client, design within a budget, and build something that will be functional on our campus. Our client is Time for Three—a music trio who molds Classical and current music genres with two violins and a double bass. The result is a sound that can’t be specifically classified; instead, it’s a freestyle mix of jazz, country western, gypsy, and classical. Find more information and listen to songs on Time for Three’s website:  

www.tf3.com                    

         On our first day of class—September 16—our Professor notified us that Time for Three would be performing at Richardson Auditorium located right on our campus on March 7th 2012, and had contacted the Architecture School about students possibly helping with the stage set design in addition to smaller “pop-up” stage sets that would spring up around campus on the days leading up to the performance—as a way to drive ticket sales and publicity. After this initial discussion about our final design project, the class researched pop-up performances and began thinking about important stage design issues such as:

           

            -TIMING

            -DESIGN PHASES

            -LIFESPAN

            -COST

            -FABRICATION

            -MATERIALS

            -FORCES

            -OPERABILITY

            -AUDIENCE

            -ACOUSTICS

            -RECYCLED MATERIALS

            -HOW MANY PIECES? WHAT’S ACTUALLY FEASIBLE?

 

            We planned to meet with Time for Three on October 14th in order to get a better idea of their thoughts and share some of our own questions, concerns, and ideas before moving forward to a preliminary design stage.