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The O2? Wembley Arena? Sure, they’re world-renowned music venues. But a new major concert venue might be arriving in town.
Taking over the Museum of London’s current site, the London Centre for Music is a joint venture by the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra and the Guildhall School of Music as well as the City of London Corporation.
Now the winning plan from the site’s design contest has been revealed, it’s looking like the building is one for architecture fiends as well as music fans.
The new design proposals showcase a modern, airy wooden building designed by renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, famous for their work on the High Line in New York and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. The City of London Corporation says that the building is intended to be ‘visually breathtaking’ and ‘acoustically perfect’.
Aiming to be the Tate Modern of the music world, the £2.49 million building will also provide space for rehearsals, small performances and education programmes – and it’ll be open to the public even if you don’t have a ticket for a show, so you’ll be able to go and immerse yourself in music whether you’re watching a performance or just sauntering around.
If it gets built, it will sit on the emerging ‘Culture Mile’, which weaves together landmarks such as Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge. There are also plans for the Centre for Music to host pop-ups, events and non-classical gigs.
However, like the two Crossrail stations it’ll sit between, no one has a clue when the new hall would actually open. The Museum of London isn’t moving to its new site until 2022 – so for now, we’ll have to make do with the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the rest of the capital’s existing world-famous music venues. Tough life, eh?
Watch to find out more about the London Centre for Music:
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