The Interdisciplinary Approach to Liquid Architecture

As new art forms develop, many find their roots in the concepts and values of past art movements or disciplines. For example, Leonardo da Vinci may be classified as an artist of appropriation for his use of biology, mathematics, engineering and previous art types in creating his pieces. Therefore, art builds upon itself through the unique integration of different aspects of art forms to create new interdisciplinary approaches. One such development has been multimedia art’s use of animation to express architectural concerns, known by artist Vibeke Sorensen as liquid architecture. The work of liquid architecture involves the combination of music, imagery, and dynamic motion in different architectures that help enhance the art’s meaning. The architecture can be a physical space, virtual reality, or social construct, among other possibilities. By examining the work of Leo Villareal and Vibeke Sorensen, one is able to see how artists have been able to combine such concepts in multimedia art with architecture to create this new interdisciplinary approach. In addition, this art form is also being applied in other realms, such as a current advertising campaign launched by Tylenol.

One such artist that combines multimedia art with architecture is Leo Villareal. In his recently installed piece at the National Gallery of Art entitled “Multiverse”, Villareal created a complex light structure around the Concourse walkway between the East and West buildings of the gallery. Visitors can pass through this piece, which features 41,000 computer-programmed LED nodes. Using custom designed software, Villareal created numerous light patterns that are selected through chance and are highly unlikely to repeat during the time an individual views the piece.

In this piece, Villareal is incorporating computer animation technology with a physical architectural space. What makes this particular piece a form of liquid architecture is the way that Villareal has used the space in combination with digital technology and animation. He did not just place his work thoughtlessly into the physical space. Instead, he carefully crafted each design and LED node to fit into the space to further enhance the viewing experience and meaning behind the art piece. In addition, “Multiverse” not only incorporates the physical space but also the purpose of the space. This walkway in the gallery is used as a transitional pathway from one wing to another. Therefore, the patterns created reflect such movements. They also allow the viewer to feel as if they are being transported into a different realm.

Overall, the viewer experiences a completely new form of architecture that is dynamic and vivid. Even if they do not understand the meaning behind the piece, they acknowledge that it evokes a unique feeling for the space. By combining multimedia and animation to enhance the visual, spatial, and aural aspects of architecture, Villareal created liquid architecture. In an interview, Villareal compares his work to “creating a musical instrument custom designed for that space.” By integrating dynamic motion into this space, Villareal is contributing an artwork that fits into a new architectural model and interdisciplinary approach, just as creating a custom musical instrument will create an entirely new sound.

Another artist who has perfected liquid architecture and, in fact, coined the phrase is Vibeke Sorenson. As an artist who has spent the past three decades developing projects in this area, Sorenson can be seen as an expert on multimedia and architecture. She has developed the view that architecture is more than just a static, physical structure and instead incorporates the view that architecture can be dynamic into her work. She sees architecture in networks such as telecommunications, structures that are in sync with nature, and space-time relationships such as music. By combining these views of architecture with music, imagery, and dynamic motion, she has helped to create a unique architectural model and interconnected approach.

In April 1999, Sorenson displayed how multimedia that includes animation and live music can combine with architectural space to contribute to this unique art form. In the piece, entitled Lemma 2, two sets of two musicians performed on stages 2000 miles apart. However, they played together as one through speakers on each stage. In addition, animation was connected to respond to the musical gestures at the opposite location.


Overall, this piece joined two performance spaces as well as music and moving images to create a form of liquid architecture. This piece showcased how Sorenson was able to transform a normal musical experience into one that incorporates a more modern form of architecture; one that is virtual. Sorenson strategically analyzed the possibilities associated with this architectural space and made conscious decisions, such as how to incorporate animation that responds to distant musician’s movements. In this sense, she is examining the meaning of architecture and capitalizing on its advantages to develop her own architectural model.

This approach taken by Sorensen is comparable to the method Villareal followed when creating “Multiverse”. Both looked beyond the physical space of an architecture to its meaning. They also considered how multimedia art can be used to evoke the meaning and purpose of this space. Villareal used multimedia to enhance the purpose and feelings associated with a walkway while Sorensen illustrated the interconnectedness of musical and visual gestures through architecture. Overall, it is evident through such pieces that a new art form following an interdisciplinary approach has been created. This art form addresses architectural concerns in a new light through multimedia and animation. Furthermore, this discipline will continue to expand and evolve as artists engage in further exploration, just as Sorensen has done for the past thirty years.

But perhaps what is most interesting in relations to this evolving interdisciplinary approach is its applicability to a current guerrilla marketing campaign for Tylenol PM in New York City. In this campaign, an animation of six apartment building windows is projected onto a blank wall between Eighth Avenue and 31st Street. The windows begin dark but then three light up and show such animations as a coffee drinker pacing in front of the window, a cat jumping between beds, and a television watcher waving his remote. At first, it may seem like a clever advertising campaign in a city full of clutter. However, the agency that created the piece thought of principles similar to those that have been discussed as a part of liquid architecture. This advertisement creates a new architectural space through the use of animation. The agency explored the purpose of a blank wall and enhanced its appeal to the general public by projecting fictitious apartment windows, which are a common site in New York City. The purpose and feelings associated with this piece of architecture are enhanced, similar to the purpose of Villareal’s piece. The only main difference is that Tylenol PM created this piece to increase brand recognition and sales while Villareal created his for pure artistic purposes. However, it is evident that liquid architecture is becoming increasingly popular and is a new way to interpret the space around us.