House of Music

Designed by Mario Cucinella Architects, the recently built House of Music in Italy joins nine small round-shaped music laboratories with high acoustic and energetic performances.

The Music Society and a music-oriented Middle School of Pieve di Cento, a small town close to Bologna, Italy, asked Mario Cucinella Architects to build a proper structure to host the new local House of Music.

The result is a diffused structure whose architectural language is inspired by the musical tradition rooted in the city. The building consists of nine small circular music laboratories, linked by a “piazza” that acts as a distribution space and becomes a place for sharing and dialogue among young musicians. This central area is also intended for ensemble music and small rehearsals.

The reference to musical instruments is also achieved through the choice of oak wood paneling, which wraps the exterior and the interior and allows the containment and amplification of sound just like the instruments’ bodies. The buildings have load-bearing masonry structure, useful for its high thermal inertia and a sound insulation. The ventilated facade cladding, formed with curved oak slats, guarantees excellent energy performance. The design pays particular attention to the acoustics of interior spaces through materials and strategies for reducing reverb. An autonomous system for each classroom guarantees flexible use of spaces at all hours of the day.

Located in a portion of the former Lamborghini manufacturing area, which has been renovated and transformed into a leisure park, the House of Music is reached by a bicycle path that connects it to the city center and the new expansion district south of the historic center, while a curvilinear wooden bench runs around the building and creates resting and restorative places facing the park. The House of Music thus becomes a space that can be used at any time of the day: a gathering space for the community, not only those in the music field.