The „Musikschule“ (School of Music) project is a structurally and functionally important component in the “KulturWerk Norderstedt“ scheme. As an educational institution, it will provide the „Kulturwerk“ location with additional social life.
The stair space of the recessed cube, which is four storeys high, is reached by crossing a passageway from the pre-located foyer. The music rehearsal rooms for electronically-amplified music as well as rehearsal and recording rooms are situated in the basement. The large choir practice room is also accommodated in the basement while the six music rehearsal rooms are situated on the first floor. The light-inundated ballet hall on the second floor takes up the whole of the top storey and looks out over both quarry pond and municipal park. The inner space of the ground floor is free of supporting buttresses as these are arranged along the facades. The buttress-free space is made possible by two storey-high, wall-like concrete beams which transfer the weight of the upper storeys to the buttresses along the east facade. In addition to the supporting walls of the corridor, the first floor also has facade buttresses around it. Unlike the other storeys, the topmost, ballet-hall storey is made of lightweight steel. Slim facade buttresses carry a steel roof construction that also spans the entire ballet hall unsupported.
The double shell of the facade creates a jacket space that buffers the loss of radiant heat from the building as well as buffering against cold air entering from outside. Whereas the ‚double facade‘ with its drilled limestone bricks affords static protection against the summer sun, it acts in winter as a heat collector by using the warmth of the mass of the building itself.