Ian Potter Southbank Centre
Located in one of the finest arts precincts in the world, the recently completed Ian Potter Southbank Centre is the new home of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. It is the centrepiece of the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus accommodating more than 1,000 music students.
At its heart the building celebrates the activities of rehearsal and practice. It is a building that is, above all, designed for teaching, rehearsing, performing and recording a broad range of music.
It is the behind-the-scenes activity that audiences do not often see that the architecture of the Ian Potter Southbank Centre aims to amplify and reveal. Window portals, including a 6m diameter oculus in the Kenneth Myer Auditorium, provide glimpses of the inner workings of building and campus, connecting the public with the Conservatorium.
Carefully designed by John Wardle Architects, this building celebrates the less formal activity of backstage. Accordingly, the working interior is also designed specifically to support the daily life of the conservatorium - robust, intellectual, informal and playful.
CLIENT
John Wardle Architects
LOCATION
Melbourne, VIC
COMPLETED
2019
Photography
Trevor Mein
Our Scope
MDA was responsible for the building acoustic design, theatre, stage machinery and lighting design. The acoustic experience at the Ian Potter Southbank Centre is alive with energy and intentionally not designed to be isolated. The internal acoustics are designed for sound to be audible but not intrusive, to create a warm, ambient environment. The sounds of learning and practice are allowed to permeate through into the common spaces without intruding into critical spaces. The acoustic design features, the three large performance spaces all share attributes such adjustable performance lighting and professional recording with AC/ICT support capabilities.
Design features include:
The Kenneth Myer Auditorium, accommodates a 120-piece orchestra for rehearsals, with a 200-seat retractable seating bank for performances, recitals and guest lectures. It is a flat-floor venue for large ensembles, orchestral rehearsal, choral rehearsal, chorus with orchestra, chamber music recitals, guest lectures and public recitals.
The Music Workshop, is the main performance and lecture space. It accommodates up to 40 musicians on stage, a choral balcony for 60 and the 14.5m long cantilever creates stepped and raked seating for 400. The balcony and wings can be used for master class sessions with visual connections. It is designed to feel intimate with a single performer and small audience or a full theatre.
The Prudence Myer Studio, is a flexible flat-floor performance and rehearsal venue, accommodating up to 135 people. This space is for performance classes and workshops; ensemble classes and academic teaching; exams, recitals and small concerts.