Juarez architect Marco A. Solís proposes a new way of perceiving architecture, exploring and experimenting with the acoustics of spaces through a performance and sound art installation, a project that he presented at the University Center for the Arts (CUDA).
A graduate of Architecture who studied at the Institute of Architecture, Design and Art (IADA) at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), he says he has found a unique way to combine acoustics and architecture in a project that explores the aural architecture. Being his main object of study, he seeks to raise awareness of the way in which spaces are lived, perceived and designed and that not only the visual is the main factor in this discipline. This border architect also has a musical career, being a former drummer for the band “Leche.” Solís played with renowned bands such as Babasónico, Panda, Jumbo and Porter, participating in concerts of all scales, including presentations at the Palacio de los Deportes. In fact, the band also had a tour in Miami, from where they worked in the studios of the famous producer Emilio Estefan, giving him extensive knowledge of music to later focus on his project, Marco mentioned. “What aural architecture studies is how sounds affect people and their social behavior; however, acoustically, it is known that low frequencies vibrate and are felt more. For some the sharp may mean nothing, and for others it may mean annoyance.” Solís made a presentation as part of his master’s thesis for that degree, which he presented to the CUDA, and he chose this venue because it was a reference for music and architecture in Ciudad Juárez. In the center of the space he placed a Great House drum, sound synthesizers, cables connected around the railing of the second floor of the building. The experiment consisted of grabbing different surfaces such as the railing while playing the different instruments and emitting vibrations, which the participants expressed felt in the chest or simply in the hands, the grip of each person depended; then it resonated in the skylight of the CUDA building, and so on in different spaces of the premises. This type of performance, Solís indicated, has not only taken him to Ciudad Juárez, in the last two years it was presented in Querétaro, Mexico City and Guadalajara where he currently resides.
