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Diller Scofidio + Renfro/Sheppard Robson's London Centre for Music replacement inches closer after planners grant local approval

2024-04-30T13:45:00-04:00

The revised Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Sheppard Robson-led scheme at the Barbican in Central London reportedly gained planning approvals from the City of London’s planning body. The news came last week (April 17th) after UK Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove remanded an Article 31 order calling on the local committee to pause its process in light of pushbacks against the planned demolition of the existing Bastion House and the former Museum of London that is an integral part of the scheme.

Previously on Archinect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveil designs for London Centre for Music replacement

Yahoo! Finance UK quoted a spokesperson from the group Barbican Quarter Actiorn as saying the demolition would be “injurious to the future of people and the planet,” adding, “We continue to believe that this great City can and should do better and that it should retain and adapt these fine buildings in line with its own policies on sustainable development.”

If approved by Gove’s o...

Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveil designs for London Centre for Music replacement

2021-12-07T14:18:00-05:00

Scrapped plans for a new concert hall in London are getting a much-needed reset thanks to an updated design by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Sheppard Robson.

The pair originally was set to design the hall as part of a scheme sponsored by the Barbican and London Symphony Orchestra to redevelop the site of the Museum of London after winning an international competition in 2017.

Image courtesy DS+R/Sheppard Robson

The plan was also backed by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and included a twisting geometrical glass-and-timber structure which featured a layered program of performance venues and music education spaces at a tune of £288 million ($381 million) before being axed quietly at the beginning of the year by the city.

The new design features an ostensibly simplified form beset with biophilic elements which run up the plaza-facing facade of the structure now dubbed “London Wall West” in reference to the existing structures at 140-150 London Wall that are said to be “at the end o...

First images of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's London Centre for Music unveiled

2019-01-21T16:45:00-05:00

Today, The Barbican, along with the London Symphony Orchestra and Guildhall School of Music & Drama, released images of the Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed London Centre for Music. DS+R was first announced as lead architect for the project back in 2017, and teamed up with Sheppard Robson, Nagata Acoustics, Charcoalblue and BuroHappold, and AECOM as the project’s cost consultant.

Serving as a new gateway for London's emerging Culture Mile, the Centre for Music will be situated near the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, and will be in between two major new Elizabeth Line stations.

Concept Design: Centre for Music Exterior View. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Concept Design: Centre for Music Concert Hall. Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

“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 keenly felt today,” DS...

Starry shortlist of architects for London’s new Center for Music

2017-07-11T20:38:00-04:00

The viability of building a major new concert hall in London has been widely debated, and the future of the Center was thrown into doubt last November, when the British government withdrew its commitment to contribute 5 million pounds (about $6.4 million) to pay for a business plan. The City of London Corporation stepped in with 2.5 million pounds (about $3.2 million) to allow project to go ahead.

The shortlist for the future home for the London Symphony Orchestra and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama was announced on Monday and consists of AL_A, Foster + Partners, Renzo Piano, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gehry Partners, Snohetta , all of which have extensive experience working on cultural buildings.

The center which will include a concert hall with up to 2,000 seats, as well as education and training spaces, will be located in what is currently the Museum of London, designed by Hidalgo Moya and Philip Powell in the 1970s. The building is estimated to cost 200 million to 250 million pounds ($257 million to $322 million) to construct and is to be covered by private and philanthropic donations.

"The shortlisted architects have been asked to provide detailed designs as well as estimated costs, and the winner will be announced this fall."