National Music District Enschede

The audience finds - besides the actual performance - the experience perhaps even more important. That is why the building employs all kinds of resources. For instance, a sophisticated lighting system is able to change the architecture of the three foyers into individual interiors with distinctive ambiences. Also, the foyers can be interconnected as a sequence linked by ornament on the rear wall. A footbridge connects this area to the adjacent music centre.

We’ve paid a lot of attention to the ambience of the backstage area too. It is bright, stylish and sometimes homely. It offers a comfortable working environment that performers find pleasant and are glad to come back to, combined with a well-oiled machine that offers a wide range of options.

The required facilities were cleverly assembled within a striking complex on a cramped urban site nearby the railway. With a huge outdoor staircase that faces the station and a slanting green-copper roof above a glass façade on the side bordering the city centre, the so-called Muziekkwartier beckons passers-by approaching from all directions. It is, moreover, contributing to a logical and attractive routing through the city.