Kossman Design
Thesis Reviews
2022 Winner
Xi Jin
Xi Jin, who recently graduated from the Stuckeman School at Penn State with a bachelor of architecture degree, was named the winner of the Department of Architecture’s 2022 Paul M. Kossman Design Thesis Award for her project that explores the similarities between the way music is composed and spaces are designed.
A native of Beijing, China, Jin said she drew on her interactions with music during her childhood when designing her thesis project, which is titled “Composing Space: A spatial and sonic experience.”
“I started learning about music when I was 4 years old, so having the experiences of singing and playing instruments over the years gives me another way to see architecture and the design process. In my head, the two have always been close to each other,” she said. “Walking by columns, walls and different materials is musical, so in my thesis project, I wanted to do something to hinge the two realms together and explore the connection more.”
According to the thesis brief, Jin’s project serves as a device to connect the disciplines of music and architecture, and the project consists of two parts: from music to space and from space to music. Jin researched the connection throughout the spring semester by collaborating with composer Emily McPherson and conductor Christopher Kiver from the School of Music.
The first part of the project, explained Jin, is the process of designing acoustic and rhythmic experiences from musical ideas. The second part is creating music from the spatial experience and translating visual information from the “architectural score” to a vocalized choral composition.