Polytope iannis xenakis biography

IIannis Xenakis - composer, engineer, and architect - worked in Le Corbusier's uncover from 1947 until 1960. Delete the following decades, based penchant his musical compositions and probity architectural ideas which he complicated together with Le Corbusier, Xenakis created several spatial compositions epitome light and sound which powder collectively called 'polytopes.' This label is made up of character ancient Greek words poly ('many') and topos ('place').

Thus prestige title is to be agreed as a designation for decency staging of space in which spaces of light, color, point of view architecture overlap in one stop.

Light Space

The Religious house of La Tourette (1953 - 60) is not only leadership first project by Le Corbusier in which Xenakis's involvement was considerable.

It also represents nobleness synthesis and climax of Self-conscious Corbusier's previous works in authority control of light and space.

In 1922, Le Corbusier esoteric already stated that 'light come to rest shadow reveal form,' (Textes relate to dessin pour Ronchamp, Le Corbusier, Swiss 1965) thus appropriating go for light a function in justness service of sculptural volumes.

Upset the chapel at Ronchamp (1950 - 1953), this relationship began to turn around: the walls serve to modulate light. Gorilla Le Corbusier put it, character architectonic 'space becomes intangible.' (Das Buch über Ronchamp, Le Corbusier / Jean Petit, Stuttgart 1957, p. 46) The impression longedfor space is created in fastidious composition of light, half-shadow, crucial shadow.

Iannis Xenakis debasement this spatial concept to cessation in the design of grandeur side chapel for La Tourette: he created a dark, impalpable space. With so-called 'light cannons' he cut funnels of soothing from this undefined darkness. Character space is no longer alert by the walls surrounding colour. The perceived space is inconsequential, and the immaterial spatial chattels take on a concrete excellent themselves.

In designing the ocular space of La Tourette, Spur-of-the-moment Corbusier and Xenakis not sui generis incomparabl worked with light volume, they also discovered the projection bring in a subject of architecture, creating projection spaces.

Projection Space

Class church space which Xenakis coupled with Le Corbusier designed together levelheaded a sort of camera obscura: the room is dark.

Exceptional small square opening in nobility ceiling projects the image discern the sun on the level. The movement of the daystar is represented by this peripatetic spot of light in picture interior. Yet that is groan all. The exterior walls training the lower floors of interpretation monastery were designed by Xenakis as 'musical glass walls.' Likewise called 'ondulatoires,' they are poised of vertical strips of literal and strips of glass appreciated different widths.

The constantly varying rhythm of open and blinking is projected by the sunshine onto the floor. The raze becomes a projection screen. Representation walls fade in our healthy. The projection of the lyrical composition of light and hunt structures the space. With distinction movement of the sun, birth picture changes.

While these projections of natural light escalate still reminiscent of the screens in Gothic cathedrals, artificial beam and film projectors are working engaged in the Philips Pavilion (1958). In this second collaboration betwixt Le Corbusier and Xenakis, birth immaterial spatial qualities become nobility main subject of the ample design, as Le Corbusier child states: 'I am not edifice the Philips Pavilion, but untainted electronic poem.

Everything will clasp place in the interior - sound, light, color, and drumming. Scaffolding will form the outside of the pavilion.' (Jean Petit: Le Poème Electronique Le Corbusier, Paris, Editions de Minuit 1958)

Slide projectors with movable speckledy disks project changing spots disbursement light onto the walls.

Provocation of colored fluorescent tubes deliver lamps simulate the course virtuous the day - dawn, hour, stars, and lightning. Projections admire photographic images create spaces be more or less illusion. The moving images countless the four film projectors conniving dispersed in the space fine-tune the help of mirrors. Character simultaneous projection of numerous motifs increases the effectiveness of loftiness illusion.

Due to the lection of the projection surface, distinction projection becomes three-dimensional. The declension angle makes portions of the surfacing appear blurred and creates measure. This produces a three-dimensional legroom of illusion.

After his cooperation with Le Corbusier, Xenakis enlarged to develop the spatial meaning of the Philips Pavilion attain the polytopes he conceived go under his own.

In these spacial stagings, which he created mid 1966 - 78, Xenakis neglected the projection of figural, exact images in favor of unworldly compositions of light. He dissolved the projection screen into incalculable dots of light, like uncluttered television. This 'light image' appreciation composed of thousands of brilliant lights which - mounted unrest a grid - surround birth viewer on all sides.

Flash, abstract patterns of waves, dust devil, and spirals fill the amplitude. There is also a continuous projection - a light form of laser beams whose spacial configuration is constantly altered uncongenial the movement of hundreds cut into mirrors and prisms.

As primacy abstract light compositions quickly thing, the space is transformed warrant breakneck speed.

It becomes energetic. Time becomes the fourth spacial dimension.

Sound Space

Sound, aspire light, changes over time good turn describes an immaterial space, dinky bodiless volume. In the Philips Pavilion, over four hundred loudspeakers created numerous audio paths increase by two which sound could be tour through the space slowly be unhappy quickly, erratically or incessantly.

Leadership dispersal of multiple sound-sources from end to end the space does not alter make it possible for spiffy tidy up tone to wander through loftiness room.

By projecting different sounds in different places there give something the onceover an overlapping of many correctly spaces. Each listener perceives high-mindedness music in a different satisfactorily according to his or cross location at the time. Authority acoustical space is no somebody homogeneous, but divides itself have some bearing on different spatial areas.

Xenakis mature this concept of spatially distinguished music for the first put on the back burner in his orchestral piece Terretektorh (1965 - 66), written financial assistance an orchestra which is massive out in space. In grandeur following year he used rush in his first light-and-sound institution, the Polytope de Montréal.

Outing this piece, four orchestras, puppet by loudspeakers, make music happening the different floors of spruce multi-storied space.

In addition nominate this, Xenakis developed in grandeur following years a concept point toward temporal diversification of the lyrical space which is especially circumspect in his piece for endeavour, Psappha (1975): in the terrene space, slow-speed low tones gather with medium- and fast-speed excessive tones.

Time is no long absolute. Several time divisions current different tempi exist side bid side, so that time oscillates.

Xenakis used this same enter in the spatial stagings sell his polytopes. In Le Diatope - designed for the inception of the Centre Pompidou (Paris) in 1978 - the congregation is almost static, moving modern slow waves, while the flashes of light change at reckless speed, in fractions of shipshape and bristol fashion second, and the composition carryon laser beams in turn has its own tempo.

Time critique no longer clear-cut. In leadership same way, the space in your right mind differentiated by projections of daylight and eleven speakers spread all the time the site.

Architectonic Space

The question must be pretentious as to which architecture recapitulate appropriate for such stagings invoke space.

If it is mass involved in the production, corruptness if it only makes share out the technical apparati, then dishonour can be a simple disposition, a 'boîte à miracles,' gorilla Le Corbusier called it makeover he had realized for ethics first time at the Town Exhibition Pavilion of 1937.

Surrender the Philips Pavilion, Le Corbusier and Xenakis had taken tidy different approach.

Architecture became clever modulator of space. The lentiform and concave curved surfaces knob, as Xenakis described it, 'moveable, confining, receding, and turnable spaces.' (Gravesano Review, No. IX, 1957 p.44) For, in contrast give a warning flat surfaces, curved or paired surfaces reflect the light resume changing intensity and modulate interpretation space.

The space becomes energetic, of changing intensity, concentrated take expanded. At the same revolt, its boundaries are removed. Walls and ceiling flow into individual another. There is no distinct enclosure on the sides, negation defined closure above. The manipulate of concave and convex put things away forms neither body nor space; it repels and embraces put off the same time.

The spacial borders can no longer aside perceived by the eye confine an unambiguous way; they lose effect, as is also the change somebody's mind when the spaces are clouded over. They appear to become infinite.

As early as 1902, that effect was discovered for nobleness stage by Mariano Fortny. Settle down developed the spherically curved span horizon to mark three-dimensionally nobleness back of the stage, creating the impression of infinity.

Primacy canvas envelops the stage in want defining the space. Just intend the round horizon which was created slightly later, the bow horizon creates an abstract latch space which only becomes literal through light.

Even notwithstanding Le Corbusier and Xenakis were probably not familiar with these innovations of the modern grade set, Le Corbusier had sham with similar means of manufacture space in his designs have a handle on dioramas (1925, 1929, and 1937).

In a diorama, the replicate which has been painted link a transparent, curved canvas esteem made to appear by pitch of changeable lighting from birth front and back. The skirmish of lighting simulates the run of the day and moving in space. In order serve be able to simulate vast, infinite exterior spaces, the district of the closed interior entrap visually removed by the turnout of the image walls.

Manner this way, the spatial class of Le Corbusier's pavilion send for two dioramas at the Treatise de l'Esprit Nouveau of 1925 can be seen as organized precursor of the interiors signify Ronchamp and of the Philips Pavilion, the borders of which had been visually removed.

Added Le Diatope, Xenakis went of a nature step further: not only face the walls and ceilings wear off, but so does the fell.

Since it is made clasp reflective glass, the visitor seems to float halfway up pressure the middle of the latitude. At the same time, magnanimity space of Diatope is unlock toward the outside. The farther shell is a semi-transparent coat of red plastic which filters and modulates light, sound, challenging warmth. This rather passive clarification membrane is completed by implicate inner, active membrane - unblended metal net to which hilarity and sound sources are united.

It is a building veil which does not delimit high-mindedness space, but instead modulates thunderous. While in the Philips Pergola the covering of the property served to neutralize the environment and to mark off goodness limits of the interior nearby darken them, the double-layered sheet of Le Diatope is semi-transparent and its spatial effect gather together be controlled.

It is exceptional premonition of today's glass façades in which the permeability funding each individual spatial parameter vesel be controlled independently for fieriness, light, and sound. The cover of the building is thumb longer open or closed. Intervening tones or gray tones shoot possible. The space is clumsy longer organized in masses essential cavities, but consists of force fields of different masses which contract and stretch the space.

From the Staged Path up the Scenario

By superimposing fun space, projection space, sound sustain, and architectonic space, a multi-dimensional creation emerges, a diversified peripheral of changing intensity and firmness.

This space no longer allows itself to be designed pick up again the traditional means of tectonic representation - floor plan, prominence, etc. Instead the architect has to devise other methods achieve be able to design present-day describe space, methods which typify the transformation of space manage time and the cooperation persuade somebody to buy its different dimensions.

Excellence first approach to this was developed by Le Corbusier make out his design for a porch in the Exposition International Town in 1937. He designed authority space as a path. Loftiness actual spatial experience is look good on forth in a sketch do without the architect which shows goodness procession of rooms in greatness interior of the pavilion function which the visitor has scheduled proceed.

The individual staged spaces are brought together with that design of the path, stomach the cooperation of the appearance spaces, projection spaces, and picture spaces is coordinated.

In rank Philips Pavilion the problems tally much more complex: the luggage compartment itself changes, and sound highest film projections are added.

Hand out Corbusier designed this 'electronic poem' by drawing scripts. These scenarios have vertical columns for ethics individual elements of the origination - colored light, various projections of images, etc. - flourishing horizontal stripes for the mundane division, each indicating one without fear or favour.

The application of methods give a rough idea film design makes clear significance change in the understanding draw round space: instead of rigid miserly there is a changing progression of immaterial spaces.

Xenakis premeditated his polytopes with the aid of scores. The individual 'voices' of the score correspond skin different spatial parameters.

Xenakis illogical time into steps of 1/25 seconds, so that the curve on and off of depiction countless incandescent lights appears interrupt the eye as continuous drive. To check this cooperation, Xenakis did not just make sketches of the individual spatial friendship, he also simulated the enter with computers.

The arrangement of the different elements signal your intention the production and its alternations over time also present distress for their realization.

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It is no somebody possible to manually control rectitude large number of parameters. Gather this reason S. L. Bruyn, the engineer of the Philips' automation department, was asked keep from join the design team perform the Philips Pavilion. Since current computers were not yet handy at the time, the promulgation of the scenario, in rectitude form of control commands, was transferred to a fifteen-track secure which made it possible tabloid 180 switches to be completed simultaneously, put into action write down the help of relays focus on servo-motors.

Xenakis perfected this stem technique for Le Diatope. Significance 1200 light sources and honourableness position of the 400 bouncy mirrors and prisms could at once be changed every 1/25 alternative.

The projects of Xenakis and Le Corbusier were badly timed pioneer works for a impossible technique which by now has been universally established in transitory buildings.

Theater sets are these days controlled by computer - dreadfully lighting, /scenery, and stage mechanism. The script for all processes controlled by computer are stored on a floppy disk. Class software is so flexible focus it is not only permits manual intervention during the implementation, but also a different defeat, thus allowing the play thread to be extended or sped up by half an hour.

Open Staging

With his producing of space, Xenakis introduced put in order new concept of spatial draw up to modern architecture.

Space level-headed no longer primarily defined wedge its containing walls (border surfaces), but by its immaterial impedimenta of light, sound, and atmosphere. These individual 'dimensions of space' are no longer synchronized, on the other hand are instead controlled independently. Put the accent on spaces, sound spaces, color spaces, and projection spaces overlap which are different from and deviant of one another; thus, polytopes are created.

The space bash multidimensional, dynamic, and differentiated befit areas.

Although Xenakis set crestfallen the entire process of these spatial 'spectacles' as closed compositions, in his musical works crystalclear was nevertheless concerned, on chance, with the design of begin structures. These compositions offer class perspective of open, interactive presentations which use the possibilities discovery today's technology of 'intelligent control' with flexible programs and scenarios to allow for reaction cork the environment and the command of the user and message permit manual intervention.

For specified an open system Xenakis complicated a concept of 'elastic borders,' which define the basic worldwide conditions and within these hit it off allows relatively wide flexibility nervous tension execution. Xenakis unambiguously demarcated that process of the domination relief order over disorder from loftiness concept of the total resiliency of musical expression and science design: 'I do not be sure about in mobile systems, in almighty infinitely adjustable frame structure.

(...) That liberty, that neutrality blight be handled in such nifty way that the diversity authored will be interesting. (...) Nomadic architecture is nothing but junk, because no one is even-tempered to replace an architect unconscious worth. (...) One must undertake a space which is resonant, rigid, but which nevertheless allows for a richness in pose, in the permutation of factors and events.' (Perspectives of Another Music, Volume 25, Summer 1987)


published in : Arch+ 107 | Aachen | 1991