CampbellReith has investigated steel, concrete and timber framed elements for these complex structures and have fully considered their dynamic characteristics for the Benenden School.

Concert Hall

The Hall has been designed to suit a large variety of purposes. The School wants to be able to host concerts by visiting orchestras, choirs and soloists, and be able to offer function hire and social events for the wider community. The acoustics needed to be very good when the Hall is full, superb when it is empty, and adjustable according to the type of performance or occasion.

With the numbers involved, a variety of access points, including separate entrances for performers from the audience have been incorporated. A box office / café area was needed to handle large audiences and hospitality requirements.

The signature roof for the Concert Hall has been designed in glue laminated timber beams in a tennis racket arrangement which is both structurally highly efficient (with its in-built arching) and which delivers the required acoustic performance without additional costs for acoustic panels.

Music School

The main requirement for the new Music School was to create a building which immediately suggests Benenden School provides outstanding music education.

The building needed to be warm and welcoming to encourage students to come and practise particularly in the evenings and at weekends. The design allows plenty of daylight in to the building.

The building has been designed to have excellent acoustic performance to suit the core building usage. Overall internal layout requirements have created adaptable / flexible spaces to maximise multi usage of rooms.

In order to control acoustics and vibration response within the Music School, a reinforced concrete frame has been selected. The use of flat floor slabs has also greatly simplified the services distribution.