Music school, Lüdenscheid (GER)

category Education + Research + Learning project Construction of the new music school with a multipurpose room for the city of Lüdenscheid client City of Lüdenscheid (GER) area gfa 2.664 m² competition phase 06/2016 - 08/2016 realisation 11/2019 - 08/2022 photos Alexander Ring

Space comes alive through sound. Without sound a room is unbearable. Sound carries over into the room. Each room sounds different. Music and architecture are inextricably connected to one another.

Ilga Nelles // R+ Architekten Hamburg & Cello

Urban planning concept

The particularity of the site at the spacious crossroads area of Hochstraße and Staberger Straße in the midst of a heterogeneous development of various uses and eras provides only tangential specifications for urban planning references. Only the unique topography, the vegetation worthy of preservation and the graduated heights of the neighbouring buildings have an influence on the design.

The result is a basic concept of the music school as a standalone structure. The three-storey new construction is designed in line with considerations of the urban development concept of the city of Lüdenscheid and deliberately positioned on the northwest site boundary. Due to its spatial positioning, the structure forms the heart of the quarter, the starting and focal point between educational institutions, residential area and old town. As a result of its location within the exterior space, it is a key feature of the start of the quarter

Decision by the project award jury

The height and location of the three-story structure is a perfect fit for its urban environment, making a positive impact on the surroundings. Skillful integration of the architecture into the topography has created a clear entrance and site configuration, as well as extensive landscaping and functional terraces. The entrance of the building with a spacious lobby overlooking the old town and correctly positioned entrance is the right solution for this project. It functions simultaneously as the main entrance and reception area of the new music school. The building’s clear façade, with its simple, geometric lines, could form a harmonious connection to Lüdenscheid’s Old Town. Brick as a visually pleasing and haptic substance, but also durable and timeless material for buildings and open space use, is best for this project. One critic is that rather than invoking symmetry, the façade could inspire a bit more tension.

The layout of the lobby areas on the ground floor, with multifunctional hall and percussion room easily accessible to users and visitors, as well as the delivery area, is a good and fully functional use of space. Similarly, the two upper floors featuring practice rooms and administrative areas around the cleverly positioned development centers and adjoining rooms, is an effective concept that stands out well. The design is fundamentally easy to implement and is in the middle range of all key financial criteria, except in traffic surfaces, where it exceeds the average.

Critically, the jury noted that the open orientation of the lobby to the southwest and the associated projection of the main part of the building does not have the same urban significance as the street and northeast part with the entrance and in this area an improvement of the architectural and urban planning aspects seems possible, not to mention achieving some savings. Similarly, the jury misses a differentiation of the projection over the three glass facades of the lobby to accommodate their urban bearing. The design of the percussion room and of the multifunctional hall does not include natural lighting.

The design, through its modularity in construction and the appropriateness of the architectural resources, has made it possible to effectively achieve the task at hand. The finished plan promises flexibility both in terms of required adjustments to the design and in terms of future operation and variations in use of the building. Overall, the design, with its urban planning and architectural concepts and its open space design, represents a solution to the competition challenge that simultaneously respects and shapes the site. The result is an open and functional public building that promotes an identity-creating place of learning.