Holzman Moss Bottino Architectur
Passersby will be able to see musicians at work in a large rehearsal space.
The UW-Madison officially broke ground on its new music venue Oct. 28, unveiling a dramatic design for the facility, which will be built in phases at the corner of Lake Street and University Avenue.
Construction begins next month, and completion of phase one, the Hamel Music Center, is expected by January 2019, though a “soft opening” may occur earlier. Phase two, which will include offices and other spaces, has yet to be scheduled. The project’s final cost is estimated at $55.8 million, all of it raised by donations.
The project’s architectural firm is New York-based Holzman Moss Bottino. Malcolm Holzman was a principle with Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, which designed the Madison Civic Center, predecessor to the Overture Center for the Arts.
“There is continuity in the work we are doing,” says Holzman, noting the firm is following design principles it established many years ago.
In effect, the design will turn the music center inside out.
From the outside, a quarter of the center will appear to be wrapped in a gigantic curtain, separating to reveal a grand glass entryway. “The notion is that the lobby space will light up in the evenings and be an invitation to come in, both day and night,” Holzman says. A large rehearsal space will also be visible from the outside; passersby will be able to see ensembles at work.
That transparency is a far cry from the university’s current home for music, art and history, in the nearby Humanities building, designed in the Brutalist style. An angular fortress of concrete, it was completed in 1969.
There will be two presentation spaces, the largest seating 650 and an orchestra of 140, as well as a balcony for the chorus. A smaller recital hall, on the corner, will feature a four-story wrap-around window.
Wallpaper for the recital hall will be based on prints by local artist William Weege, UW emeritus professor of art and founder of Tandem Press.
“Both of these [performance] rooms will fit comfortably in-between the sizes of auditoriums in your community that are available for music,” Holzman says. Plans are for the spaces to be available to the wider community. “We’re assuming it will be heavily used, and its location on University Avenue will allow very easy access,” says Holzman. “The goal of both auditoriums is to provide Madison with two more rooms that provide excellent acoustics, so that everyone should be delighted to perform there.”
Chancellor Rebecca Blank says the new facility is much more than a building: “It represents a new era for music education, research and performance at UW-Madison,” she says. “This project will complete the transformation of a part of campus that was, admittedly, pretty bleak and barren into a stunning and lively arts corridor that includes the Chazen Museum of Art,” says Blank. “We can’t wait for the curtain to rise.”
