The University of Wisconsin campus is uniquely integrated into the urban fabric of Madison’s isthmus. Here, the geography forces a patchwork of busy streets, pedestrian thoroughfares, and mixed-use high-rise buildings—providing a unique density of people. The campus itself has a storied tradition of buildings that reflect their time and place. These buildings serve as a timeline of 150 years of architectural history, with the most recent buildings pushing the edges of contemporary design. The Hamel Music Center, located at the eastern gateway to the university, at the busy intersection of University Avenue and Lake Street, anchors one of the most publicly visible corners of the campus. The warmth of precast concrete echoes the limestone of other iconic campus buildings, but the form of the Music Center reflects the forward-thinking, progressive “Wisconsin Idea.” Utilizing building materials sourced locally, the Music Center is an addition to the campus that undeniably belongs to Wisconsin.

As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “Architecture is frozen music.” The folded, undulating forms of the precast panels evoke this very imagery of flowing stage curtains frozen in time. Wisconsin’s landscapes inspire the interior scheme. Deep blues reflect our lakes, while the plum, gold, maroon, and copper colors used throughout the iconic performance spaces are the colors of our state tree, the sugar maple, frozen in various stages of transformation. This culminates in the wallpaper that adorns the perimeter walls of the Recital Hall—inspired by local artist Bill Weege’s work, Like a Rolling Stone; the wallpaper is the artist’s largest installation in Madison. The Hamel Music Center, through rhythm and syncopation, is designed to evoke the musical experience as one experiences architecture through time. The glowing curtain wall façade of the main entrance invites the public to enter the sheet music.

The scheme for this building flips the paradigm of performance spaces and, therefore, required unique approaches to acoustical challenges. Rather than burying the recital hall in the core of the building and using other program elements to isolate the performance venue, the Collins Recital Hall was placed prominently right at the busy intersection. The glowing clerestory window that circles the top of the room signals musical activity is underway in the evening hours. Fully isolated double-wall construction, which incorporates the iconic folded precast concrete panels and clerestory, accommodates this placement with total acoustic isolation. Bookending the opposite side of the building, the Sing Man & Florence Lee/Annette Kaufman Rehearsal Hall publicly anchors the building’s edge along East Campus Mall. Contrary to the norm of showcasing artists only during the performance, a unique feature is the Rehearsal Hall’s double-walled acoustically isolated corner window framing music rehearsal and preparation for public view.

The third and primary venue of the building, the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, also features a unique approach to acoustics. Flanking the hall, acoustical reverberation chambers contribute to the sound of the space, allowing the venue to sound much more significant than its physical volume suggests. These chambers are four stories tall, made of solid concrete, and contain acoustical curtains that allow them to be uniquely tuned. This enables the space to be completely customizable based on the unique needs of each performance. While not directly visible from within the performance space, these reverberation chambers are represented by large circular penetrations in the shell of the side walls. These are akin to the sound holes that allow reverberation and projection of sound in many string instruments, like a guitar. The result is a room that can flexibly accommodate orchestras, choirs, and ensembles of various sizes—allowing a wide breadth of musical talent to be showcased.

The Hamel Music Center supports the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music’s fundamental mission of fostering and promoting the global cultural art of music. It provides state-of-the-art performance venues and rehearsal spaces that assert the importance of music within the urban campus fabric of Madison, Wisconsin.