henry cheng proposes venue for the UK music scene

henry cheng proposes venue for the UK music scene
(above) central courtyard with the main venue’s bi-fold hangar-style doors open
all images courtesy of henry cheng

over the past several years, it has become startlingly apparent that small music venues across the UK and particularly in london, have been subject to closure at an unnerving rate which has the potential of damaging the local music scene and industry. the less venues for bands to play, the less opportunities for young bands to gain live experience, to build a fan base and make it in the industry. this also results in the gig-going community to become under-serviced. kingston currently has plans to redevelop its town into a competitive retail hub with the proposed eden quarter development/regeneration which aims to provide an architecture of high-end retail, restaurants, flats and offices etc. most of this will undoubtedly improve the currently under-utilised area, however one important aspect of kingston that has been noticeably lost over the past few years are music venues.

skate park (alternative public space)

designed as a thesis project by henry cheng, the ‘academy of alternative rock’ tackles this issue by providing a new alternative rock music school with several venues of varying capacities. partially inspired by cedric price’s ‘fun palace’, this ‘anti-building’ embraces the spirit of alternative rock and culture by acting as a counter-culture to the surrounding context while fitting in and working well at a town planning level. this is achieved through the layout of the buildings to form pockets of activity within ‘streets’, the use of expressed red steel, grey zinc cladding with daniel libeskind’s jewish museum referenced fenestration that represents the emotion, energy and rebellious nature of alternative culture.

streets (view up from ground level) 

educational and rehearsal spaces are designed as ‘pods’ with various degrees of flexibility, taking advantage of its steel frame structure, for user configuration. the school will embrace a learning by performing ethos (progressive education) by allowing students as many opportunities to perform live as possible and for their performances to be broadcast with the intent to showcase and inspire a new generation of talent and to embrace the importance of this aspect of kingston that is being lost through the council’s proposed developments.

upper streets 

main concert venue 

site plan

ground floor plan

first-floor plan

second-floor plan

third-floor plan

long section 

west elevation – façade design with glazing as cuts in the external walls

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom