First concept designs released for London Centre for Music (Photo/Tianxing Bai)

On Jan. 22, the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall School of Music & Drama released the first concept designs for their project to create a world-class Centre for Music in London, as part of a progress update on their plans for the proposed new building. This update follows the recent news that the City of London Corporation has backed the next phase of work by providing £2.49 million for the three partners to undertake further design development, and to advance with fundraising, business modeling and capital funding plans.

The Centre for Music is to be a world-class venue for performance and education across all musical genres, harnessing the power of three internationally recognized cultural organizations - the Barbican, LSO and Guildhall School - to inspire a new generation with a love of music. The Centre will include a world-class concert hall and superb spaces for performance, education and rehearsal. It would, above all, be a place for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the joy of making music first hand.

Education Pod. Concept Design - Centre for Music Concert Hall. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio and Renfro

The concept designs, developed by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, demonstrate the potential to deliver this new landmark building on the current Museum of London site.

Elizabeth Diller, Founding Partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, said, “We want to unlock the urban potential of the Centre for Music's site at the southern tip of the Barbican by reclaiming the roundabout for the public realm, where the car’s isolating effects are felt today. A vital public space seamlessly connects to the foyer and extends a welcome to everyone, with or without a performance ticket.”

Alongside creating an outstanding new building for London and the UK, the designs propose reimagining and transforming the layout and public areas of the current Museum of London site, creating open, welcoming and traffic-free public spaces, while also linking to the Barbican Estate’s Highwalk network.

Exterior View. Concept Design - Centre for Music. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio and Renfro

The proposed Centre for Music site sits on a pivotal cultural axis in the capital, linking north from Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral, between two new Elizabeth Line stations. The realisation of the concept designs would create an iconic new gateway to the City of London’s emerging Culture Mile, drawing visitors into an area that is set to be transformed over the next decade and beyond through new transport hubs, outdoor programming and major enhancements to streets and the broader public realm that link the area’s existing and planned world-class cultural destinations.

"The proposed Centre for Music would be a landmark building in the City’s emerging Culture Mile, and arguably become regarded as the envy of the international arts, music and educational community," explained Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair for the City of London Corporation.

“Visually breathtaking, acoustically perfect, and with a commitment to being totally inclusive, the Centre for Music would bring together outstanding performers and diverse audiences. It is my sincere hope that it would attract generous support from businesses in the Square Mile and beyond. That is vital to its success," she added.

The Centre would be run by the Barbican, enabling the arts centre to expand its international programme significantly across all genres. It would be home to the London Symphony Orchestra and become the base of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s new Institute for Social Impact.

Entry Plaza. Concept Design - Centre for Music. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio and Renfro

“We believe in music. We believe in London. We believe in the power of music to transform people’s lives. More importantly, we believe it is for everybody. Talent for music, love for music has never been anything to do with the ability to play, to hear or learn. It is every child’s birthright," explained Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director for the London Symphony Orchestra and Artist-in-Association, Barbican and Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

“The idea that there can be a new cultural centre in London, in Culture Mile, and that in the middle of it, a truly great international, modern concert hall of our time, equipped for everything of this age, is very exciting. A sign of London as a dynamic cultural city, at a time when we are going to need this more and more,” Rattle added.

The next phase of the project is expected to take approximately one year to complete. (Photo/Tianxing Bai)