ArchitectureWeek People and Places: Safdie Architects in Melbourne, Australia

Safdie Architects has designed the new home of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music in Melbourne, Australia. Image: Courtesy Safdie Architects

Safdie Architects has revealed its design for a new Music Conservatorium building at Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia. The four-story building, home to the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, will include a 500-seat recital hall, a multipurpose hall, amphitheater, a recording studio, 40 individual practice rooms, a jazz club with cafe and restaurant services, and music department offices and support spaces.

Composed of glass, precast concrete, and stainless steel, Moshe Safdie's design for the building is composed of two major building elements. The Conservatorium's more staid, rectangular portion, with a skylit central atrium, contains the building's office and classroom spaces. The second component is a large performance wing that contains the recital hall. This wing splits, culminating in two performance spaces whose end walls are a series of stepped, curved-shell light scoops that will wash diffuse daylight into the rooms.

Two-minute virtual walkthrough of the Music Conservatorium. Video: Courtesy Monash University

The new building will be located on Monash University's Clayton campus and will serve as a new entryway to the campus. The structure will include a porous facade that opens up to Monash Walk -- the primary internal pedestrian walkway through the campus.

Rendering of the 500-seat recital hall of the Monash University Music Conservatorium. Image: Courtesy Safdie Architects

Renderings of the conservatorium building show that the rectangular wing will be similar to some of Safdie's recent institutional work, including the U.S. Institute for Peace, in Washington, D.C. The project's design can also shares qualities in common with the Vancouver Public Library and Salt Lake City Public Library buildings.