Willem Marinus Dudok: The lyrical music of architecture

Barnstone, DA

Willem Marinus Dudok: The lyrical music of architecture

Barnstone, DA

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Architecture, 2015, 20 (2), pp. 169 - 192
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Barnstone, DA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2846-1226	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Architecture, 2015, 20 (2), pp. 169 - 192	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1360-2365	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35231
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 RIBA Enterprises. Willem Marinus Dudok stands out from his Dutch and European peers for resisting the temptation to conform to the aesthetic norms of the avant-garde and for the unique aesthetics in his work. A man who shunned movements and dogma in a time when new architectural manifestos abounded, Dudok preferred to say little about his designs. Yet by combining a close reading of his design work with the few essays that survive, it becomes apparent that one important inspiration for Dudok was classical music composition, in particular counterpoint. Dudok was the son of a professional musician; he played the piano all his life, even sketching his design ideas on scores, probably when he was practising. Analogies between music and architecture date back centuries; typically architects worked with the aspects of form, rhythm, harmony and proportion. But Dudok added another element to the musical arsenal: he used classical counterpoint as an organising principle in plan and elevation. Although he never outlined exactly how he translated his extensive knowledge of music to architecture, Dudok used musical metaphors often enough when describing his work for us to know that music was always on his mind. Dudok was a prolific architect, and considered important during his lifetime - he won the UK's Royal Gold Medal and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, there were Dudok societies all around the world - and yet he is largely overlooked today because his work never conformed to the aesthetic expectations of modernism. This paper examines Dudok's design method, in particular his use of musical composition techniques, and re-positions his work as an outstanding example of a different kind of modernism.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Architecture	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/13602365.2015.1025812	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Architecture	en_US
dc.title	Willem Marinus Dudok: The lyrical music of architecture	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	20	en_US
utslib.for	120103 Architectural History and Theory	en_US
utslib.for	1201 Architecture	en_US
dc.location.activity	England
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Architecture
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CCDP - Contemporary Design Practice
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	20	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 RIBA Enterprises. Willem Marinus Dudok stands out from his Dutch and European peers for resisting the temptation to conform to the aesthetic norms of the avant-garde and for the unique aesthetics in his work. A man who shunned movements and dogma in a time when new architectural manifestos abounded, Dudok preferred to say little about his designs. Yet by combining a close reading of his design work with the few essays that survive, it becomes apparent that one important inspiration for Dudok was classical music composition, in particular counterpoint. Dudok was the son of a professional musician; he played the piano all his life, even sketching his design ideas on scores, probably when he was practising. Analogies between music and architecture date back centuries; typically architects worked with the aspects of form, rhythm, harmony and proportion. But Dudok added another element to the musical arsenal: he used classical counterpoint as an organising principle in plan and elevation. Although he never outlined exactly how he translated his extensive knowledge of music to architecture, Dudok used musical metaphors often enough when describing his work for us to know that music was always on his mind. Dudok was a prolific architect, and considered important during his lifetime - he won the UK's Royal Gold Medal and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, there were Dudok societies all around the world - and yet he is largely overlooked today because his work never conformed to the aesthetic expectations of modernism. This paper examines Dudok's design method, in particular his use of musical composition techniques, and re-positions his work as an outstanding example of a different kind of modernism.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35231