SOUND + SILENCE

CORNISH COLLEGE SCHOOL OF MUSIC / UPTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD / SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The School of Music, as part of the arts campus expansion for Cornish College explores the relationship between sound and silence. This design aims to capture sound by giving musicians the agency to control their environment to ultimately determine how sound is heard and experienced. 

The building is organized into 2 masses. The first mass holds spaces for education, including study and practice areas. All the practice rooms and rehearsal spaces are located along the street side of the site. A wooden, operable façade remains visually opaque, but can open to allow sound and light to pass through. Musicians then have control over how much environmental sound is let in, as well as what music is contributed to the street.

The second mass holds the vertical auditorium that sits above the public spaces including the gallery and student commons. An an-echoic chamber sits at the center of these public spaces. The atrium-like auditorium punches through the whole building and allows for flexibility of performances, while being a more intimate and controlled environment. By providing 4 levels of first row seating, each audience member has a box seat.

Instructor: Mary Johnston + Jack Chaffin