Architecture of the Air
By Christopher Janney

Christopher Janney is a musician who designs buildings, an architect who makes music, an artist whose works invite interaction and engagement as opposed to passive appreciation.

The majority of Christopher Janney's work is in the public sphere, often turning spectators into participants. His innovative use of sound, light, and interactive technology in architecture, reflects his training as an architect and jazz musician.

With foreword by Sir George Martin, producer of the Beatles, and an essay by Miami Herald architecture critic Beth Dunlop, the book introduces a selection of the Christopher Janney's most accomplished works.

Janney's Urban Musical Instrument series includes Reach: NY on Manhattan's 34th Street subway platform, Chromatic Oasis in the Sacramento Airport, Harmonic Runway in the Miami International Airport, Circling in the Dallas
Fort Worth International Airport, and Touch My Building in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Photo courtesy Christopher Janney. 
Reach: NY

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Chromatic Oasis

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Harmonic Runway

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Circling

In Touch My Building a giant bank garage in North Carolina gains colored glass panels and neon fins that trigger sound and light.

Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Touch My Building

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Touch My Building

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Touch My Building

Sonic Forest is an array of 25 aluminum columns fitted with speakers, lights and sensors that are triggered by human interaction, the music continually changing and evolving in response. It can be set up differently as the site demands.

Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Sonic Forest

 
Photo courtesy Christopher Janney
Sonic Forest

These works are colorful, exciting and sensitive and responsive to the environment they are located in. The book documents these and other similar projects, as well as houses designed by Janney.

Coinciding with the publication of the book Christopher Janney's new project Rainbow Cove Green, a nine-story interactive sound and colored glass environment, was recently unveiled at Logan International Airport in Boston, MA.

Photo courtesy Christopher Janney

Photo courtesy Christopher Janney

Rainbow Cove Green is located in the northeast pedestrian tower as part of the airport's new Central Parking facility. As travelers move through the tower and its elevators, they hear an ever-changing soundscore, titled "Sound Environments of New England," composed by Janney. Complementing the green environment is Rainbow Cove Red in the southeast pedestrian tower.

These works are an extension of his exploration of the "hidden music" inherent in architecture - from the rhythmic patterns generated by the interplay of light and colored shadows to the movement of the pedestrians.