Berwick Hall, Oregon Bach Festival & University of Oregon
It has enabled long-held dreams of inviting artists year-round to work in our community. Top-notch musicians remark upon its uniqueness. They don’t know of another space like it.
Janelle McCoy
Executive Director, Oregon Bach Festival
Berwick Hall, Oregon Bach Festival & University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
9,500 SF
Completed 2017
Client Notes
Make a new 'front door' to the Oregon Bach Festival, and deepen connections between the Festival, the UO campus community, the arts community, and the greater cultural communities of Oregon. Provide world-class performance and rehearsal space that honors the technical mastery, intellectual depth, and beauty of Bach's music.
Designer Notes
For Berwick Hall, we wanted the building to be an instrument, for its design to enhance the musical experience of performers and audiences alike. Acoustically tuned for musicians to hear each other, and for the conductor to hear each instrument, the rehearsal room is specifically designed for a variety of rehearsing, teaching, performing, and recording uses. Its wood walls are shaped by sweeping curves that direct sound upwards, and the room's materials and form scatter and gently absorb high frequencies, providing warm, smooth sound. The building also houses multi-functional performance spaces, as well as meeting and administrative spaces.
Certifications
Sustainability PDF
Recognitions
IIDA Design Excellence in Education, 2019
AIA Portland Merit Award, 2019
People
Caitlin Ranson / Lewis Williams / Jake Freauff / Andrew Schilling / Becca Cavell / Sonia Norskog / Jennifer Fowler
Corey Martin, Design Principal
Melissa Clark, Project Manager
