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The site where the Museum of London currently resides could soon give way to a towering new concert hall, as suggested by renderings released by American architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The £288 million London Centre for Music would become the venue for the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and its twisting pyramidal shape bears some striking similarities to the new Tate Modern addition across the River Thames.
New York City-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro won a design competition for the site in 2017, and their vision is just now being revealed to the public. The multi-level building's centrepiece would be the concert hall, accommodating up to 2,000 people. Connecting to the Barbican Estate's unique Highwalk, the building is composed of programmed volumes, from the multi-purpose foyer to an intimate music space at the top called The Coda. This flexible performance venue will provide users with direct views of St. Paul's Cathedral and the wider London skyline.
"The Centre for Music would turn the Barbican's inwardly focused campus inside out, providing ample, light-filled public space, a world-class concert hall, and much needed learning and outreach spaces," reads the design rationale on Diller Scofidio + Renfro's website. "The Centre would be a beehive of activity both day and night—a place where music of all kinds is made, learned, experienced and shared. It would be a place where people want to spend time, even without a concert ticket."
The London Centre for Music is expected to become a key node in a north-south corridor dubbed the Culture Mile. The route would begin at the Tate Modern complex, cross the Thames on the Millennium Bridge, travel past St Paul's Cathedral and then along the new music hub. The £288 million cost of the project will be raised from private donors. Meanwhile, the Museum of London will be relocating to a site in Smithfield.
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
