Greenhalgh Centre for Music & Drama, Meriden School

The new 3,000 m² centre houses a music academy, drama theatre, recording studio, practice rooms for orchestras, ensembles and soloists, purpose-designed music classrooms, a composition laboratory, an indoor/outdoor amphitheatre, props and instrument storage, green room and staff commons.

In form, materiality and finish, every element has been considered in rhythmic composition to inspire the student body to creative and musical excellence. A combination of timber species is used in the public spaces to reflect the use of complementary timbers in the making of musical instruments, while vibrant colours in the learning and studio spaces adds a playful energy.

Externally the five-storey building assimilates neatly into the site, its two basement levels below ground allowing its three visible levels to harmonise with the setting and street. Inside, the architecture rises to include a soaring central void and dynamic elements that express movement, musicality and drama through repetition, colour and form.

Suspended brick walls in rich sienna and burnt umber fold from outside to the interior, where a sculptural staircase rises through the levels, looping (clef-like) up into the void. Following the stairs are timber balustrades countersunk like piano keys.