Perth Concert Hall (Western Australia)

Last updated

Perth Concert Hall
Perth concert hall 01 gnangarra.jpg
Perth Concert Hall (Western Australia)
General information
Type Concert hall
Architectural style Brutalist
Town or city Perth, Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 31°57′29″S115°51′50″E / 31.958°S 115.86385°E / -31.958; 115.86385 (Perth Concert Hall)
Current tenants
Construction started1971;54 years ago (1971)
Opened26 January 1973
Cost A$3,201,873 (1973), equivalent to ~A$29 million in 2016 [1]
Owner City of Perth
Design and construction
Architecture firm Howlett and Bailey Architects
Other information
Seating capacity1,729 people (main auditorium)
Website
www.perthconcerthall.com.au OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
TypeState Registered Place
Designated12 July 2002
Reference no. 4571

The Perth Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. Owned by the City of Perth, the concert hall is the main venue of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and also hosts a number of other events and performances. The building itself is located in Perth's central business district, adjacent to the Supreme Court Gardens and Government House. It has two façades: facing north over St Georges Terrace, and facing south over the Swan River.

Contents

The concert hall was constructed on land granted to the City of Perth by the Government of Western Australia, and opened on Australia Day (26 January), 1973. Designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects, a local architectural firm, the building is constructed in the Brutalist style, making heavy use of white off-form concrete and a solid opaque interior. The main auditorium of the hall seats 1,729 people, as well as a 160-person choir gallery and a 3000-pipe organ. Acoustically, the venue is considered one of the best in Australia,[ citation needed ] with the design overseen by the New Zealand acoustician Harold Marshall.

History

Perth Concert Hall southeast corner Perth Concert Hall south east corner.jpg
Perth Concert Hall southeast corner

In 1950, the Government of Western Australia granted the City of Perth land between Stirling Gardens and Government House. Howlett and Bailey designed an administrative building and an auditorium, however due to financial constraints, only the former was built, Council House opening in 1963. In 1968 Howlett and Bailey was appointed to design a concert hall with construction commencing in 1971. [2] [3] It was officially opened on 26 January 1973 by the Governor General Paul Hasluck, with Prime Minister Gough Whitlam also in attendance. [4] [5]

In January 2015 the West Australian Symphony Orchestra become the venue manager of the hall, taking over from AEG Ogden that had managed it since March 1999. [6] [7] In April 2018, the City of Perth approved a A$1.4-million upgrade for the concert hall. [8]

A $52-million redevelopment of the concert hall was announced in 2020 as part of the Perth City Deal project, [9] with the Government of Western Australia contributing $36.4 million, the federal government $12 million and the City of Perth $4 million. [10] In March 2022, With Architecture Studio and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) were appointed lead architects for the redevelopment. [11] In March 2023, the state government announced an additional $98 million towards the project, bringing the total funding to $150 million. The redevelopment is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.[ needs update ] [12]

Architectural design

The building was designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects. Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey had won a design competition for a town hall and auditorium in 1961. Their design consisted of two buildings, one containing administrative offices and the other, oval in shape, comprising the "town hall" or auditorium. The administration offices, called Council House, were built, however financial constraints and doubts regarding the auditorium's acoustic properties meant that construction of the auditorium building was delayed. Its design was subsequently re-considered and it was not until the late-1960s that a different plan was approved. This plan was:[ This quote needs a citation ]

to accommodate not more than 2,000 people and to cost no more than $2,000,000 and with the highest priority to be given to its musical uses, i.e. Symphony concerts, choral concerts, organ recitals, etc., and, in addition, performances of minimum staged ballet, fold dances or musical drama, and also be suitable for other functions such as large Civic receptions, conferences, conventions, public meetings, pageants, school speech days, pop concerts and folk singers.

Gallery level foyer showing post and lintel Iwelam, Perth Concert Hall. Gallery level foyer showing post and lintel..jpg
Gallery level foyer showing post and lintel

Through 1969, the architectural plans were amended several times. These amendments included beautification and landscaping of the main pedestrian approach from St Georges Terrace and construction of a subway under the Terrace, a pit for a 60-piece orchestra with removable flooring and seating to cover the pit when not in use, and improved access and facilities for disabled people. The original plans included a restaurant with a seating capacity for 400, but following inspection of similar halls in the eastern states of Australia, it was decided that this was not warranted. It was, therefore, decided to make the restaurant smaller and include a tavern and cocktail bar, allowing patrons a wider choice. The bar area was named Wardle Room, after Thomas Wardle.

It was the architects' intention that the exhibition foyers would be used as a continually changing venue for all types of art (such as painting, tapestry and sculpture exhibitions) rather than as permanent exhibition spaces. This may have influenced the Perth City Council's indecision over whether or not to accept artist Sidney Nolan's offer to permanently loan the city a series of 64 paintings of wildflowers for hanging in the hall. After considerable public debate over the matter, Nolan withdrew the offer and art dealers and others criticised the short sighted and parochial attitude of the council in refusing the offer. Ironically, the first exhibition in the foyers featured 54 of Nolan's wildflower paintings.

Several consultants were involved in the design of the building, including acoustic consultants, structural engineers, and experts in escalators, stage machinery and lighting. D.H. Fraser was responsible for the structural design and Marshall was the acoustics consultant, in association with Warwick Mehaffey of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Marshall used computer modelling to predict how well people would hear in each of the seats and worked closely with the architects in designing the main auditorium, which according to Howlett had to be,[ This quote needs a citation ]

a Great Room, as the Concertgebouw hall in Amsterdam, the Boston Symphony Hall and the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna are great rooms, recognised for their superb acoustic and that is not merely clarity...The great halls have ornate ceilings and other ornamentation. Though the Perth Concert Hall will be a completely modern building, the "fruity" ceilings and decorations of the older halls, which undoubtedly play a part in their acoustics, will be reproduced, in effect, in coffers hanging from the ceiling, in corrugated walls and in the complex double tier of boxes sloping up the side walls.

The Perth Concert Hall is an example of brutalist architecture, with its solid opaque interior, giant projecting roof, and use of white off-form concrete. It forms a counterpoint to the transparent filigree of Council House. [13]

The auditorium features a specially commissioned 3000-pipe organ surrounded by a 160-person choir gallery and an audience seating capacity of 1,729. [14] The organ, individually designed, cost $100,000 and was commissioned by Ronald Sharp of Sydney, who was also responsible for the organ at the Sydney Opera House. The larger pipes for the organ were imported from the Netherlands. Bailey recollects[ relevant? ] that Sharp was an "extraordinarily talented person, largely self-educated, who has to his credit the design and construction of a number of organs, mostly in New South Wales."[ citation needed ] A 2.7-metre (9 ft) Steinway orchestral concert grand piano (Model D) was also imported from West Germany for installation in the Hall.

The concert call was the first in Australia to have a show relay installed so that latecomers could watch on two screens in the foyer while waiting for an appropriate time to enter. Another screen is located at the stage door.

The City of Perth and the Government of Western Australia, as well as the architects and builders, received many compliments on the hall as it neared completion from visiting experts in the fields of music, architecture and construction.[ citation needed ]

Operations

The Perth Concert Hall has been described as one of the best fine music acoustics venues in Australia. [14] It has played host to a diverse selection of internationally acclaimed performers including the London Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and contemporary performers B.B. King, Sting, k.d. lang, Harry Connick Jr., Melissa Etheridge, Ray Charles, Rowan Atkinson and Billy Connolly. [14]

The majority of concerts by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra are performed at the Perth Concert Hall. The venue is also used for their rehearsals.

The venue is also used to host national conventions and exhibitions, award ceremonies and gala dinners. Recent exhibitions include the Steinway piano exhibition in March 2008. In addition, the venue is used for private or corporate functions in areas other than the auditorium, for example in the foyers, bar and café.

Association with Perth Concert Hall, Scotland

On 27 September 2006 the Perth Concert Hall participated in a twinning ceremony and the signing of Mutual Understanding with the Perth Concert Hall, Scotland. As a result of this twinning the Concert Hall now flies the St Andrews Flag at the front of the venue to commemorate the twinning.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Festival Hall</span> Multi-purpose venue in the city of London, England

The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I listed building, the first post-war building to become so protected. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the London Sinfonietta, Chineke! and Aurora are resident orchestras at Southbank Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center</span> Concert hall located in Dallas, Texas

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, US. Ranked one of the world's greatest orchestra halls, it was designed by architect I. M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson's Artec Consultants. The structural engineers for this project was Leslie E. Robertson Associates, and it opened in September 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Geffen Hall</span> Concert hall in New York Citys Lincoln Center

David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth Hall</span> Concert hall in London

The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Severance Hall</span> Concert hall in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is named for patrons John L. Severance and his wife, Elisabeth Huntingdon DeWitt Severance. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Cleveland’s Wade Park District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlandia Hall</span> Concert venue in Helsinki

The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967 and 1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill Auditorium</span> Performance venue on University of Michigan campus

Hill Auditorium is the largest performance venue on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill (1847–1909), who served as a regent of the university from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathed $200,000 to the university for the construction of a venue for lectures, musical performances, and other large productions. Opened in 1913, the auditorium was designed by Albert Kahn and Associates. It was renovated by the same firm beginning in 2002 and was re-opened in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland Cultural Centre</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC) is a heritage-listed cultural centre on Grey Street in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank precinct located on the Brisbane River, and was built from 1976 onwards, in time for the 1988 World's Fair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St David's Hall</span> Concert hall in Cardiff, Wales

St David's Hall is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Tully Hall</span> Concert hall at Lincoln Center in New York City

Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall. Tully Hall is located within the Juilliard Building, a Brutalist structure, which was designed by architect Pietro Belluschi. It was completed and subsequently opened in 1969. Since its opening, it has hosted numerous performances and events, including the New York Film Festival. Tully Hall seats 1,086 patrons. It is the home of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch Town Hall</span> Performing arts centre in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Christchurch Town Hall, since 2007 formally known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, opened in 1972, is Christchurch, New Zealand's premier performing arts centre. It is located in the central city on the banks of the Avon River overlooking Victoria Square, opposite the former location of the demolished Christchurch Convention Centre. Due to significant damage sustained during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, it was closed until 2019. Council staff initially recommended demolition of all but the main auditorium, but at a meeting in November 2012, councillors voted to rebuild the entire hall. In 2020, the town hall was registered as a Category I heritage building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts</span> Performing arts center in Jacksonville, Florida

The Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts (JCPA) is a performing arts center located in Jacksonville, Florida. Situated along the Riverbank, the venue is known as the First Coast’s "premiere riverfront entertainment facility". Originally opening in 1962, the facility was renovated beginning in 1995 until 1997; with a grand re-opening on February 8, 1997. The center consists of three venues: a theatre; concert hall and recital hall. It is home to the Jacksonville Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the FSCJ Artist Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koncerthuset</span> Concert venue in Copenhagen

DR Koncerthuset, previously known in English as Copenhagen Concert Hall, is a concert hall designed by Jean Nouvel. It forms part of the new DR Byen complex, which houses the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and is located in the northern part of Ørestad – an ambitious development area in Copenhagen, Denmark.


Jeffrey Howlett (1928–2005) was a Western Australian modernist architect. Howlett was born in India, but later traveled to London for his studies and then moved to Perth, Australia for training to become an architect. Throughout his life, he won various competitions with his partner Donald Bailey. Howlett acknowledged the reality of late-twentieth-century cities and, through his architecture, suggested a way of making sense of the disorder. He was a founding partner of Howlett and Bailey Architects, along with Bailey, which designed a number of Australian landmarks such as Council House and the Perth Concert Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council House, Perth</span> Office building in Perth, Western Australia

Council House is a 13-storey office building on St Georges Terrace in Perth, Western Australia. Located beside Stirling Gardens and Government House in the city's central business district, the 49.8-metre (163 ft) building was designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963, after Perth hosted the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. For most of its history, it has served as the headquarters for the City of Perth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSO Ada Ankara</span> Musical campus in Ankara, Turkey

CSO Ada Ankara is the musical campus in Ankara, where the symphonic concert hall which hosts the Presidential Symphony Orchestra is located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philharmonie de Paris</span> Concert hall in Paris, France

The Philharmonie de Paris is a complex of concert halls in Paris, France. The buildings also house exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms. The main buildings are all located in the Parc de la Villette at the northeastern edge of Paris in the 19th arrondissement. At the core of this set of spaces is the symphonic concert hall of 2,400 seats designed by Jean Nouvel and opened in January 2015. Its construction had been postponed for about twenty years to complete the current musical institution la Cité de la Musique designed by Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 1995. Mainly dedicated to symphonic concerts, the Philharmonie de Paris also present other forms of music such as jazz and world music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Music Centre</span> Concert hall in Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki Music Centre is a concert hall and a music center in Töölönlahti, Helsinki. The building is home to Sibelius Academy and two symphony orchestras, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbican Centre</span> Performing arts centre in London, England

The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. The Barbican Centre is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.

Howlett and Bailey Architects was founded by Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey in 1960, in Perth, Western Australia. They received numerous design awards and commendations from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and won the competition for the Reserve Bank of Australia Building in Canberra in 1962. Their designs combined Modern style and Classical rationale, which resulted in ordered and axial aspects. Howlett and Baileys Architects’s major projects included the Public Suite, the Beatty Park Pool kiosk and Manager’s house, and the two Australian landmarks the Council House (1962) and the Perth Concert Hall (1973). Howlett and Bailey Architects merged with Cox Architects in 1995 to create Cox Howlett & Bailey Architects. In 1998 the company merged with Forbes & Fitzhardinge Woodland to form Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland Architects, which still practices today.

References

  1. "Inflation Calculator". RBA. 14 February 1966. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. Perth Concert Hall Heritage Perth
  3. Perth Concert Hall - A History West Australian Symphony Orchestra
  4. Vice Regal Canberra Times 27 January 1973 page 2
  5. Perth Concert Hall Architecture Australia December 1973 page 88
  6. "Perth Concert Hall : News". Perth Concert Hall. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  7. Change in venue management Department of Culture & the Arts
  8. "Brutalist Perth concert hall to get upgrade". ArchitectureAU. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  9. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Australian Government (October 2020). Perth City Deal (PDF) (Report). Foreword by Scott Morrison, Mark McGowan and Andrew Hammond. Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN   978-1-925843-69-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Concert Hall gets $52m tizz". Perth Voice Interactive. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  11. "Architects chosen for Perth Concert Hall redevelopment". ArchitectureAU. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  12. Zimmerman, Josh (10 March 2023). "Huge cash injection for dilapidated Perth venue announced" . The West Australian. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  13. AA – Obituary – March/April 2006 Archived 31 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. 1 2 3 Perth Concert Hall Web Site Archived 1 August 2001 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading