Commissioned by the University of Birmingham, the state-of–the-art Bramall Music building was designed by Glenn Howells Architects.
Situated within the historic, Aston Webb-designed Grade II Chancellor’s Court semi-circle, the music building features a 450-seat concert hall named, Elgar Concert Hall. The hall has a movable stage, and is able to seat an entire orchestra and choir, or a single soloist. There is a lift capable of hoisting a car from a drive-in loading bay directly onto the stage. The hall also offers most up-to-date audio visual systems.
Bramall Music building accommodates the whole music department of the University, including the Centre for Early Music Performance and Research (CEMPR), electroacoustic music studios, rehearsal rooms, practice rooms and office accommodation. It is also home to Birmingham’s Electroacoustic Sound Theatre (BEAST).
Bramall Music building completes the University’s central, crescent-shaped Aston Webb building, which is the central inspiration for all subsequent ‘red brick’ universities and a landmark of the University and the city of Birmingham.
The awards were announced in Cardiff on 9 March 2013. The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art. It is given to projects of the highest quality design, which have made a positive cultural, social or economic contribution to the local community.
