Royal Northern College of Music Concert Hall
- Location
- Manchester, UK
- Client
- Royal Northern College of Music
- Expertise
- Lighting
- Acoustics
- Architecture
- Completion
- 2014
- Cost
- £7m
BDP was architect, acoustic consultant and lighting designer for the £7m redevelopment which also included associated back of house areas and the refurbishment of a 150 seat lecture theatre.
The concert hall is located at the centre of the college and had remained largely unchanged since the building’s construction in 1972. The dramatic redevelopment included the construction of an additional balcony, to increase its capacity from 460 to 650 and to enable the college to maintain its international standing.
Sound insulation to adjacent performance and teaching spaces was a critical consideration. To ensure that the separating double-skin wall construction was not compromised, the structural support of the new balcony was designed to sit almost entirely within the building’s original walls, incorporating a cantilevered structure and limited intrusions into the existing building fabric.
The result is an elegant design which also creates a feature at the back of the hall, highlighted with architectural lighting.