Personal Project Piano Club
INTRODUCTION
The Piano
‘The King of Instruments’ As it’s affectionate title suggests, the piano reigns supreme in the kingdom of musical instruments. It can be defined as a keyboard, a percussion and a stringed instrument, and with an average of 88 keys, no other acoustic instrument can compete with its range or versatility.
The Awkward Instrument The piano is also the second largest instrument on the planet. Many people in Glasgow live in flats or high rises, and others do not have any room for such a large instrument, making the ownership of a piano a challenge.
The Idea
Play Me I’m Yours A project by artist Luke Jerram that has distributed pianos in cities all over the world, available for any member of the public to play and enjoy.
The Inspiration
Sally
Kieran
Robert
Female student, early 20’s, living away from home for the first time. She has had piano lessons between the ages of 7 -15 and now enjoys playing for leisure. Student accommodation does not allow for a piano and so the chance to practice is a welcome indulgence.
Male, late 20’s, a gifted amateur who enjoys being in the spotlight. Musicality can be attractive and the performing space allows him as a confident extrovert to take to the stage and to show off to both friends and strangers.
Male, late 60’s. Having downsized living accommodation he has reluctantly had to sell his piano. Private practice rooms allow him to keep up with a much loved hobby and also gives him a chance to meet other people with a similar musical interest.
The People
INTRODUCTION
Building and Location
Wilso
Virgin
ia Str eet
n Str eet
Merchant City Inn
89 Wilson Street/52 Virginina Street,Glasgow On the corner of a quiet street in and amongst the bustling life of Merchant City, my chosen site is a simple four-story tenement with an attached stair tower. It provides a hidden retreat for those who know where to find it.
Site Location
Piano Club Piano Club provides practice rooms, sheet music and a stage to perform infront of an intimate audience. Tucked away in the heart of Merchant City, in and amongst Glasgow’s famous music scene, it is accessible to anyone that has an interest in practicing, performing, listening or learning to play the piano.
The Solution
Local competition.
Live music venues
There are a number of venues in central Glasgow which offer musicians the chance to practice and also record. A few, such as Glasgowmusicstudio also provide food and drink, activities and online shopping for music related products. The Mitchell Library as part of the Scottish Music Centre provides a vast source of manuscripts, plus a small number of practice rooms. Those wishing to listen to live piano along with a meal or cocktails can go to places such as Charlie Parkers.
Practice rooms
There appears to be nowhere that provides an easy transition from purchase to practice to performance under the same roof, meaning that this proposal for a Piano Club would be a unique facility for Glasgow.
INTERIOR LAYOUT
Key changes to the building
Existing Ground and First Floor
Proposed Ground and First Floor
Scale 1:200
Scale 1:200
Existing main entrance is currently around the back via the spiral staircase tower.
Double doors via the fire escape and a spacious lift facilitate the transportation of both upright and baby grand pianos to all floors.
Proposed secondary entrance leading to shop and practice rooms.
Proposed main entrance leading to bar and performance area.
INTERIOR LAYOUT
Section
A
A
Practice Those wanting to use the practice rooms enter the building via the spiral staircase and head up to the top floor reception. The space provides for both individual and group practice, as well as a small kitchenette and lounge seating.
Purchase One floor away from the practice rooms, the shop offers numerous ways of purchasing sheet music. Shoppers can browse the shelves for music books, hunt through the second hand ‘flea market’ or print directly from the digital catalogue.
Flea Market Flea Market Flea Market
Perform The pinnacle of the performance area is the instrument itself, the baby grand piano. Encompassed by an acoustically designed structure and for an intimately sized audience, the stage is for both professional and first time performers.
Section AA Scale 1:100
PERFORMANCE SPACE
The concept
Performance space By removing the existing first floor, multiple levels can be constructed within the larger space.
Exposed concrete structure
The structure of the upper level is determined by tiered seating that looks down upon a stage. Inset 1200mm from the North, South and West facing outer walls, this structure encloses the performance area whilst revealing the Victorian sandstone walls of the existing building. The lower level houses a bar, toilets and back of house.
Five recessed strips of LED lights illuminate the stepped ceiling, and subtly suggest a staff, which is used to transcribe sheet music.
B
Platinum glazed ceramic tiles by Olafur Eliasson.
B
Exposed sandstone wall
Section BB Scale 1:100
Bar on lower level
PERFORMANCE SPACE
Bar
A
VOID ABOVE 11 4
5
1 B
B 3 6
7
2
8
1
ground floor plan Scale 1:100
H Stools in raw steel glossy finish by Tolix
Katakana Lounge chair by Dare Studio Wire Group low side table by Dare Studio
9
10
12
A
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
High tables and bar stools Low tables and lounge seating Bar Staff cloakroom Staff toilet Male WC Female WC Pre-performance practice room Lift Fire escape Stairs to performance area Stairs to shop and practice rooms
PERFORMANCE SPACE
Layout
A
VOID
Different types of performance
4 B 2
Piano Club should show off the versatility of the piano by hosting a range of musical performances.
3
B
1
Some nights there is a relaxed atmosphere with an attentive audience, such as during a recital of Chopin’s Nocturnes, or a moody blues night. Other nights have an equally attentive audience, but the performance is much more dramatic, such as during a powerful recital of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Piano Club is not always a small concert hall, but a place to drink, chat and hang out. On these occasions, the live music creates a loud and lively atmosphere, such as during a jazz night, where the piano may be accompanied by voice and saxaphone.
5
First floor plan Scale 1:100 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Tiered bench seating Table seating Stage Stairs down to bar Lift Fire escape
A
6
Once a week, amature musicians who have been honing their skills in the practice rooms above have the chance to show-off. For any pianist who wishes to perform but who perhaps find the prospect a little daunting, there is the option for a pitch black stage.
PERFORMANCE SPACE
Performance area on upper level
Stage
PERFORMANCE SPACE
Acoustics
C
C
First floor plan Scale 1:50
A long, tall and narrow ‘shoebox’ interior is widely regarded as one of the best shaped rooms for concert hall acoustics. The enclosed structure of the piano performance space echos the shoebox shape of the building. Acoustics are further improved by an angled wall to avoid the issue of flutter echos - rapid reflections between parallel walls. Hearing and visibility of the performance are improved by elevating the audience.
Elevation CC
Tesselate wall panels by Friends of Wilson Scale 1:10 The reverberation time is the time taken for sound to become inaudible. The desirable reverberation time for small live music venues is 0.9 - 1.2 seconds. In addition, the piano requires an interior with a relatively short reverberation time compared with other musical instruments. These perforated plywood panels help to reduce this time by absorbing sound.
Music is enhanced by an interaural time difference of 1 to 80 ms between direct sound and early reflected sound, which corresponds to approximately 0.3 - 27 m difference in distance travelled. The suspended ceiling, constructed from faceted plywood panels, helps to diffuse reflected sound around the interior to create an enveloping acoustic experience.
PERFORMANCE SPACE
Pivoting panels
200MM CONCRETE WALL CERAMIC TILE
STEEL BUSH 1
2
3
STEEL PLATE 30MM STEEL PIN
EXPLODED ISOMETRIC OF PIVOTING PANELS
100MM CONCRETE PANEL
Scale 1:50
Secion detail of pivot mechanism Concrete faced panels by MASS Concrete allow for a controlled measure of light to enter the space. This creates different atmospheres for different performances, from a moody jazz night to a relaxed daytime recital.
Scale 1:2
Section detail of pivoting panel Scale 1:10
Plan view Scale 1:50 Five panels of 1800 x 600 x 100mm dimension line the north wall of the performance space. Their rhombus shape allows for the panels to pivot on a central axis.
SHEET MUSIC SHOP
Digital catalogue
A
3
5
7
Digital Catalogue
2
4
6
This section is located close to the entrance for quick access and provides two services.
8
The first is an efficient method of searching for sheet music on sale in the shop. The second is the option to download and print sheet music directly from the iPad and pay using the adjacent card machine. This would be ideal for purchasing up-to-date music, such as something you might find in the Top 40 or from the latest film release.
1 10
9
Second floor plan Scale 1:100
A Vinyl printed notes of ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ composed by Rimsky-Korsakov. This infamously fast-paced composition is a subtle indication to the quick-reference nature of this section of the shop.
Morrison stool by Cappellini
Bespoke plywood bench
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Digital catalogue Flea market Music bookselves Counter Lounge seating Seating Male disabled toilet Female disabled toilet Fire escape Lift
SHEET MUSIC SHOP
Flea Market
‘Flea Market’ second hand sheet music The second hand sheet music section has been designed to create a flea market experience. Display units resembling crates promote a sense of treasure-seeking, whilst the option for angled units offer the possibility for front-cover display.
Eikon Basic in Mint by Schneid
‘Flea Market’ collage cut from second hand sheet music covers
The Somerset House Book Stall System by Fotis Evans
PRACTICE ROOMS
Layout
D A
4 3
5
2
6
1
8
7
D Third floor plan Scale 1:100
A
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Reception desk Lounge seating Practice rooms Kitchenette Male disabled toilet Female disabled toilet Fire escape Lift
PRACTICE ROOMS
Section
Section DD Scale 1:25 Small, individual practice rooms create a space where musicians can relax and play the piano. The asymmetric envelope of the interior creates the optimal acoustic environment, whilst insulated walls help to reduce sound transmission between rooms. Small, 300 x 300mm apertures located on the outer walls allow passers-by to glimpse into the practice rooms, where line of sight is directed towards the height of the piano keys.
Birch plywood panels
Harmonica-in-Vinyl Concertina Partition by Becker
Potence by Jean ProuvĂŠ
Concord 520AV in Camira Urban upholstery by Claesson Koivisto RuneÂ
Aiko armchair and Circoe table by Softine
PRACTICE ROOMS
Interior of individual room
Piano Club App In addition to the shop on the second floor, users of the practice rooms have the option of borrowing digital sheet music. An app is availble for members of Piano Club to browse for sheet music and transfer directly to their own iPad. The app would require a login accessible only from the Piano Club server, making it a temporary resource.
Happy
Pharrell Williams
Practice Room The clean, minimalistic design of the plywood-lined interior and white harmonica partition walls provide a subtle backdrop for the individually hand-painted upright pianos. The pivoting wall lamp, Potence by Jean ProuvĂŠ, can be adjusted laterally to illuminate the piano in a variety of different positions within the interior. Engineered oak boards cover underfloor heating.
PRACTICE ROOMS
Detailing
6MM BIRCH PLYWOOD SOUNDPROOF FOAM PANELS
1. Practice rooms Practice rooms with faceted walls and a high faceted ceiling create ideal acoustics by eliminating flutter echoes.
100MM STUD FRAMING 6MM BIRCH PLYWOOD
35MM TIMBER BATTEN
15MM ACOUSTIC PLASTERBOARD
6MM BIRCH PLYWOOD
15MM BIRCH PLYWOOD
Plan detail of acpustic wall Scale 1:10 2. Acoustic partition wall closed The Harmonica-in-Vinyl Concertina Partition by Becker comprises an internal steel frame upholstered with a heavy duty polyvinyl cloth, resulting in a 35dB acoustic value.
3. Acoustic partition wall open This provides a larger space and the option for group practice sessions.