SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

Role: Lead designer for Performance and Acoustical spaces

Architect: Mark Cavagnero Associates

Phase: Built

Awards: International Design Awards - Honorable Mention

San Francisco Conservatory of Music is an institution that has been proving musical education to under grads and graduate students for more than 100 years.

The project is a mixed use building to house the majority of SFCM’s student population as well as a number of musical lesson rooms, two flexible performance spaces, and a Technology Hall.

The form of the building is a direct result of the desire to celebrate the performance spaces and connect them with the bustling city, while also acoustically tuning them to be able to support a variety of musical performances.

Acoustics played a major role in the design of these spaces from the beginning, and every architectural decision was made with function, acoustical performance and visual impacts all playing complimentary roles.

The form of each of the main performance spaces took shape through intensive iterative studies of acoustics and functional necessity. Each curve, opening, panel material, thickness, and weight was intentional to optimize acoustical performance and create harmony within the space.