Julliard Goes East

The selection of DS+R is an obvious one, considering the firm of Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio and Charles Renfro were responsible for the 2009 renovation of Julliard's home at Lincoln Center in New York City. While DS+R were responsible for numerous interventions on that campus, in Tianjin they are creating a new building, one that features multiple volumes connected by enclosed bridges. Per a statement released today:

The four corners of the lobby are distinct masonry pavilions which resemble large-scale boulders. Each corner is anchored by a major programmatic space – a concert hall, a recital hall, a black box theater, and a music library, all visually accessible to passersby through ground level and upper level fenestration. The four pavilions are interconnected with a series of bridges that diagonally traverse the lobby, and contain the school’s teaching studios, practice rooms, and classrooms. The building combines performance, practice, research, and interactive exhibitions into a unique, state-of-the-art facility.​

The campus includes publicly accessible spaces that "[encourage] the public's visual and auditory access to the making of music." These include the lobby, the surrounding park and green roofs above the bridges that are accessed by a sculptural stair. A roof terrace on the westernmost bridge looks on to the Hai River and Yujiapu peninsula.

Today's release of renderings coincides with the project's official groundbreaking. The new campus is expected to open in 2019.