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Shuttered earlier this year, Birmingham Conservatoire's Adrian Boult Hall staged a wide variety of musical performances over its 30-year history. The closure of the Birmingham City University facility marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. A brand new £56 million venue is taking shape in the Eastside, representing the United Kingdom's first completely new Conservatoire since 1987.
The new complex will bring the Conservatoire's education and performance spaces into the 21st century. In total, five performance venues will be held within the confines of the new facility. That includes a 400-seat public concert hall with room for a full orchestra, a 150-seat recital hall, and numerous experimental music, organ, and jazz rooms. For performers to hone their skills, the complex will also contain over 70 music practice rooms of various sizes.
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is the architect behind the development. The brick design has attracted some criticism for its perceived heaviness, prompting calls for more glazing. But the acoustic abilities of brick warranted an opaque exterior, which takes on a form similar in appearance to the Brutalist style of architecture. To provide some permeability, windows break up the facade, which is highlighted by protruding bricks to give the exterior further texture.
Adrian Boult Hall's demolition will permit the rise of a £500 million remake of the surrounding Paradise district, which is owned by Argent. The mixed-use regeneration will include commercial, retail, civic, leisure, and hotel space, while making substantial improvements to the public realm and pedestrian connectivity.
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