The Full Score
Architect designs for the new £288m concert hall in the capital have been revealed
London’s concert hall plans; major maestro moves
An eye-catching twisted pyramid design, state-of-the-art acoustics, soundproof education pods and a roof-level performance space with panoramic views. These are just a few of the treats awaiting music-lovers should proposals for a new concert hall for London become reality.
Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) has revealed its design for the London Centre for Music which, if all goes to plan, would be located in the site currently occupied by the Museum of London. Elizabeth Diller, one of the company’s founders, said she envisaged ‘a concert hall for the 21st century that embraces both a bespoke and loose fit approach: tailored for exceptional symphonic sound, yet agile enough to accommodate creative work across disciplines and genres.’
DS+R says providing a welcome is key. The venue would prove an enticing place to drop into even for those who don’t have a concert ticket, and then at the heart of it would be a 2,000-seat auditorium that, in contrast to the traditional ‘shoe-box’ shape, goes for an in-the-round design. ‘We decided to implement a surround hall,’ explains DS+R partner Ben Gilmartin. ‘This means it’s a di erent kind of experience, one in which everyone is able to be closer to the musicians.’
The project is being driven by three major arts organisations: the Barbican, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the London Symphony Orchestra, for whom it would become a new home. There’s still the small matter of raising the £288m in private capital needed, but LSO music director Sir Simon Rattle believes that it would be a vital community asset for London. ‘The idea that there can be a new cultural centre in London and that in the middle of it, a truly great international, modern concert hall, is very exciting,’ he says. ‘[It’s] a sign of London as a dynamic cultural city, at a time when we are going to need this more and more.’