Safdie Architects revealed the design for a new Music Conservatorium for Monash University in Melbourne—the largest university in Australia. The project will include a 500-seat recital hall, a multipurpose hall, amphitheater, a recording studio, 40 individual practice rooms, a jazz club/café/restaurant, and music department offices and support spaces. The new building, located on the university’s Clayton campus, will enable the University to expand its already vibrant and successful music program. “Music and the performing arts are essential to the cultural fabric of any society. We have a vision to expand the heart of Australia’s cultural capital, transforming the university’s Clayton campus into an alternative cultural epicenter for greater Melbourne, particularly the southeast,” said Monash University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Ed Byrne. “Moshe Safdie’s vision for the new building aligned perfectly with that of the university.”
Safdie’s design for the building, which will serve as a dramatic new entryway to the campus, will marry bold visual presence, representative of the power of music, with a high technology infrastructure. Composed of glass, precast concrete, and stainless steel, the structure will include a stepped curved shell and a more porous facade that opens up to Monash Walk--the primary internal pedestrian walkway through the campus. “The Conservatorium is a celebration of the significance of music and the strength of community. While serious study and practice happen throughout the interior spaces, the concert hall, atrium, and amphitheater offer a grand scale invitation to participate in creative expression and immerse oneself in the arts experience,” said Safdie. The project design was unveiled yesterday at a public event at the university. The project will provide students and faculty with facilities commensurate with the prominence of its program.
