Toxteth Music School
Toxteth Music School looks to revitalize an underutilized area with an increased flow of people encouraged through Berkley Street by the introduction of stepped classrooms that act as performance spaces creating a dialogue between the public realm and the school. This visual and audible stimulus provided to those passing the building is important in the buildings relationship with its primarily residential surroundings allowing the local community to understand the role of this new facility..
The facade is broken up by fixed brick vertical shading devices that have environmental benefits while also providing a threshold between the School and the neighboring spaces. The differing materiality between the School and the Auditorium creates separate identities providing a distinction between learning and performing spaces.
The design of the school began with the conceptualization of a circuit with the interior servant spaces on the inside and the served spaces on the outside. Circulation within the school was a major consideration for this project as they are heavily occupied spaces within a Music School used not only for movement but also for socializing and waiting for classes. The School’s design therefore looked to accommodate such activities.
