Public Music School / Wulf Architekten

Architects: Wulf Architekten
Location: Hamm, Germany
Client: City of Hamm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of Wulf Architekten

From the architect. The initially square building from the 1970s with its typical anonymous façades and platform roof was expanded and lengthened: A distinct visual and urban planning feature is the addition of a storey and the boldly projecting cantilever, which creates a roofed entrance forecourt that is elevated towards the road due to the existing difference in height.

The lengthwise concave roof shape not only emphasizes the character of the music school, but simultaneously houses the load-bearing structure, which was developed independently around the existing building in order to avoid a reinforcement of the existing bearing structure.

Both main music halls are located directly underneath the curved roof and profit from its spatial geometry. The lined up rooms in the additional storey and the extension are elongated on the east and west side towards the south and create a generous foyer on the ground floor.

The refurbished and remodeled music school is now visible from afar and generates a completely new identity to this urban site.