walk/tour
Outside Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, SW1Y 5AH
what3words: lonely.tiger.ranked
The relationship between music and architecture is often overlooked. With reference to some of London’s St James architectural gems, this tour traces the symbiotic evolution of these two disciplines, from their overlapping foundations to the modern-day role of music as the built environment’s muse.
Charing Cross
Charing Cross
25, 12, 139, 159, 23, 26, 453, 88
The tour will require participants to traverse a short section of cobblestones.
Meet outside the main entrance of the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Goethe famously once said that 'architecture is frozen music'. However, architecture’s deep and fascinating musical connection is oft overlooked.
This tour — led by interdisciplinary researcher and Golden Key Academy-trained guide, Alexandra Woodford — aims to tease out these connections through a combination of knowledge-sharing and simple guided exercises.
From antiquity to the modern day in under two whistlestop hours, this nevertheless leisurely stroll will take in structures including the Athenæum, Royal Academy of Art and Fortnum and Mason’s insect hotel. Within this time, participants will explore topics including the lingering influence of classical thought on building composition, the role of the architect as the conductor of urban ‘performance’, and music’s positioning as architecture’s future muse.
This step-by-step tour is orchestrated to provide a gentle introduction to musical notions. So please don’t worry if you don’t know a crochet from a quaver, or John Cage from Handel. The tour is designed to be conceptually accessible to all. So please come, engage and get ready to see the built environment from an entirely more melodious perspective.
Please bring a pen and some kind of notepad (or equivalent) with you in order to jot things down during the guided exercises. These exercises will involve making very simple sketches in response to one musical and two architectural prompts. These exercises have been included to provide participants with a more visceral understanding of the abstract ideas discussed over the course of the tour. As the emphasis is engaging with these ideas rather than producing anything specific, please rest assured that absolutely no artistic ability is required!
