Urbanism and Music are seemingly distant disciplines, yet they surprisingly share common notions. A notable example is ‘texture’. In musicians’ discourse, texture commonly refers to a domain of musical organisation that does not change over time. For example, think of the constant auditory quality of wind chimes, a drone sound, or a musical accompaniment pattern (also referred to as accompaniment texture). In Urbanism, there is a similar notion known as 'Urban fabric', which refers to the common characteristics of a built environment, including streetscapes, architecture, roads, squares, and so on. At first glance, we can already see how similar these notions are: while Musical Texture has to do with a common quality characterising the music over time, Urban Fabric has to do with the commonalities of a city’s built environment, but in a spatial context. Other notions that exist in both disciplines include Composition, Form, Harmony, and more specific terms like Lines and Objects.

The proposed research project aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange between Music and Urbanism. Initially, by developing a theoretical framework to discuss the common notions listed above. Second, by creating an audiovisual exhibition where both makers take inspiration from each other’s discipline. Lastly, based on the theoretical and artistic work, we will offer a seminar for students in Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Amsterdam Academy of Architecture dedicated to exploring further artistic and design-based collaboration between makers in both disciplines.