S I R I U S H A L L , C A M B R I D G E Concerts, Lectures, Conferences, Innovation and Research

The SPRING Alliance CIC was formed in 2009 by a group of individuals who wanted to explore the feasibility of building a new and world-class concert hall for Cambridge.

For a long time, ideas of building a new concert hall in Cambridge have been talked about and proposals have, on occasion, been put forward but to date the scale of the problems involved have appeared too complex and too time consuming to resolve.

The challenge was not underestimated. However, as we explored things further we could see that as well as problems there were also significant opportunities.

Cambridge is recognised worldwide for its University, for its choral tradition and for its reputation as a global leader in research and development. It also has a distinguished reputation in the field of pioneering medical discoveries and more recently of encouraging and fostering entrepreneurialism.

We could see the potential to build an international concert hall that by design and function combined many of the elements that have contributed to establishing Cambridge’s enviable reputation worldwide. A music venue that attracted innovation, harnessed technology and embraced through research and education, the interconnectivity between science, music and technology. This would be a landmark building projecting a forward-looking Cambridge, ambitious and confident of its future.

A concept has thus emerged of building a concert hall without peer. A place that will appeal to a wide and international audience all year round and transform the lives of millions through its research partnerships, innovation, creativity and of course, outstanding output of music.

As a cultural destination, it will become one of the world’s brightest stars.

S I R I U S H A L L

WHO ARE WE?

The SPRING Alliance is a not-for-profit Community

Interest Company (CIC).

Our objectives are:

• Tosupportactivitiesthatbenefitthecommunity

and in particular advance the arts, culture,

heritage and science in a commercially viable

and sustainable manner

• Tohaveasystemiclong-termimpactonfuture

generations through the provision of world-class

culture, research, innovation, education and

communication

The SPRING Alliance is registered in

England and Wales under number 6878058.

WHAt is PROPOsED

The SPRING Alliance CIC will form a charitable

foundation to raise the necessary funds to acquire the

land. As landowner, the charity will be responsible for

the development and the running costs of the venue.

The SPRING Alliance CIC will become a wholly owned

subsidiary of the charity and hold responsibility as the

Operating Company for the venue. A service charge

account would be drawn up by the Charity and charged

to The SPRING Alliance CIC.

REsPONsiBiLitiEs

Our immediate responsibilities lie with selling the vision,

identifying and securing the right site for the venue and

raising the first phase of funding. Once this has been

achieved, our responsibilities will move to promoting the

plans through the development process.

T H E S P R I N G A L L I A N C E

PROPOsALs

• 1200seatconcertandconferencinghall

• Hall2andLectureTheatreRoomseating250

• StudioSuitesforrecordingandbroadcasting

• LargeStudio1rehearsalroom(capacity100)

• 6-8rehearsalstudios(capacityforeach20)

• Digitalmediainnovationhub

• Administrativeoffices

• Archiveandlibrary

• Restaurant

• VIPLounge

• 2shops(merchandisingandmusic)

• 2xCafés

The scheme has total gross internal area (GIA) of design

is approximately 20,000 sq. metres with a minimum

site footprint requirement of 5 acres. Outdoor events,

additional restaurants, shops, cafes, cycle parks, and

places to meet are envisaged as part of the broader

master-plan for the site. For this reason, there will be

the need to acquire an option on further space at a later

stage of the project’s development.

Sirius Hall will be one of the most technologically advanced

and adaptable concert halls in the world. Designed to

maximise energy efficiency and incorporating alternative

energy sources, the hall will provide audiences, tourists,

local communities, schools and businesses with a vibrant

new venue for music, conferences, lectures, innovation

and research. Plans include providing a sensational new

high-tech residency for The Britten Sinfonia as well as

for one of the major London symphony orchestras.

S I R I U S H A L L

Concept drawing for SIirius Hall prepared by Edward Cullinan Architects © 2012

T H E S I T E

The venue being proposed for Sirius Hall is on the

currently undeveloped site off the Madingley Road close

toJunction13oftheM11.

The scheme will become an integrated and logical

extension to the current North West Development

MasterPlan. Our preliminary architectural studies

illustrate the potential to link the current North West

Development Master Plans with the new concert hall

concepts without impacting heavily on the green field

bufferzonesrunningparallelwiththeM11corridor.

Sirius Hall would include an external space for meeting,

relaxing, eating outside and outdoor performances. The

roof would be grassed to blend in with the surrounding

countryside and used as working allotments for growing

produce served within the concert hall’s restaurant.

The 10 acre plot of land is easily accessible from the

motorway approaching from London or the North.

Excellent cycle paths and regular bus routes already

operate to the site from both Cambridge City Centre and

from outlying smaller towns and villages to the north

and west. To the east of the site is a Park and Ride,

offering potential car parking for visitors during the

evening. People will be able to travel to the site via train

(CambridgeorWittlesfordstationsareboth15minutes

from the site) by car, bicycle, public transport or on foot.

The site presents a number of obvious challenges as well

as unique opportunities. Here is a once-in-a-generation

opportunity to push the boundaries of what is possible

and create a new space that elevates the spirits.

Aerial view with concert hall proposal superimposed on NW Cambridge MasterPlan (image taken from the University’s Planning Application) Greater Cambridge showing the proposed site at left

I M P A C T & S U S T A I N A B I L I T y

From the outset our aim has been to locate a site that

can balance the need to generate vibrant public life, and

therefore be reached easily by as wide an audience as

possible whilst at the same time minimising the impact

that such a venue might bring to the surrounding

environment and local community.

The SPRING Alliance CIC plans include working,

where possible, with existing transport infrastructure

policy in order to minimise any additional pressures on

the City’s current transport infrastructure. Selecting a

site next door to the Madingly Park and Ride as well as

within close proximity to theM11 junction 13 reduces

the potential impact of building new access roads and

car parking facilities. It also reduces the threat that such

a development might have on the habitats or breeding

areas of species like bats, birds or other native creatures

that would undoubtedly suffer more, if the project was

located beyond the city boundary and in a more rural

environment.

The ecological value of the green land buffer between

the proposed North West Development and the M11

corridor will also be respected in the development. The

buildings will be insulated by covering the roofs with

kitchen gardens, native plants and trees providing not

only a rich habitat for birds and animals, but also,

as already mentioned, kitchen gardens to service the

catering requirements of the mixed development.

The buildings themselves will be designed to have as

low an environmental impact as possible, with attention

paid to ensuring materials are sustainable as well as long

lasting. Other technologies like natural waste processing

will be investigated, guaranteeing an attraction that has

as little negative impact on the environment as possible,

and which is as much as possible self sufficient in terms

of energy and waste.

The large fields to the north of the site offer a further

potential source of energy for the buildings. A system

of underground heat exchange will be investigated to

explore the viability of creating energy with a greatly

reduced carbon footprint. As well as being able to heat

the buildings in winter, such a system may well also be

able to cool the buildings on hot sunny days.

We hope therefore, that the project will demonstrate a

wide range of ecologically responsible initiatives, and act

as an example for the region of what innovative thinking

in this field of new and traditional technologies can

achieve towards long-term stability.

Roof plan for concert hall proposal superimposed on NW Cambridge MasterPlan (image taken from the University’s Planning Application)

THE V I S I O N

Sirius Hall will bring to the City of Cambridge a

remarkable new landmark fostering in the process, a

vibrant space for public life focused on instilling a sense

of community and connection among its visitors.

The visitor experience will start before they enter Sirius

Hall. With good transportation planning in place, getting

to Sirius Hall will be extremely convenient. The drop-

off spaces will be close to the main doors making arrival

quick and easy for people coming by taxi or public

transport. Good car parking will be provided via the

Madingley road Park and Ride site located only yards

from the venue’s main entrance and once on foot, the

layout of the venue will impress. From the ease with

which people are able to find their way around the

venue intuitively to the layout of facilities and the design

of transit areas, the focus will be on making the space

a pleasure to discover and work in. At the heart of its

design, will be the relationship between the main concert

hall and what we are calling the Corona.

The Corona will be built for people to meet, relax, eat and

perform in. Whether it be an informal and impromptu

busking platform or a more staged and professional

scale event during warm summer evenings, the Corona

will offer an enjoyable space capable of constantly being

reinvented by the public.

Retail outlets, cafes, restaurants and the auditorium’s

box office will occupy the colonnade level of the Corona’s

circular perimeter. Above the colonnade, on the first and

second floors, media research facilities for technology

and innovation will create a sense of permanent activity

and creativity from dawn till dusk.

Moving from the Corona, through the main lobby toward

the front of house, a 250 seat lecture theatre, a music

library and archive centre as well as a fully equipped

series of recording studios will be located. This area will

be a hive of activity focused on education and research

as well as in-house recording and broadcasting facilities

for the main hall.

The lobby will combine space, light and comfort. Split

over three levels, gallery and exhibition space, viewing

galleries and seated areas will be provided to create

an open, light and airy environment with cloakrooms,

restrooms and hospitality areas on each level.

The focus of Sirius Hall will be on what goes on within

the space and how it achieves a connection amongst its

visitors. Sirius Hall itself will be incorporating a dynamic

design that allows for creative uses and opportunities for

exploration. It will offer an example of form, function

and nature that thrives despite its relative isolation from

the rest of the Cambridge cityscape.

An international architectural competition will be

launched to select the lead architects once outline

planning permission has been granted.

 

Perspective sketch of the Sirius Hall proposal showing the Corona in the foregound

Iconic architecture at its best: The Oslo Opera House attracts crowds of people despite its isolated location

The Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Frank Gehry’s finest building, which fosters vibrant public life and contextually creates a real centre for Millennium Park.

It shall be the design of the auditorium that will leave

the lasting legacy. We will begin from the inside and

work out. The aim will be to get the hall and its acoustic

shell perfect before we start building around it. This is a

particular challenge when a hall is to be used for a range

of functions from conferencing to concerts. Further more

the introduction of innovative new media technology will

be a vital additional component to the auditorium design

adding additional complexity.

The mixed use facilities will be fully wired with internet

2 offering new income generating opportunities

and performance formats for the Concert Hall and

ConferencingVenue.Thesewill include producingCD

qualitysoundandDVDqualityimagesrecording

sessions, in-house publishing, broadcasting, live

webcasts, conferencing income, ticket sales, sponsorship,

merchandising, advertising and a range of related

technology led initiatives focused on introducing and

engaging a global virtual audience to the venue’s

activities.

Performers, researchers, students and delegates whose

commitments don’t allow for visits to Cambridge can lead

real-time master classes, presentations or performances.

Composers a continent away can ‘sit in’ on rehearsals of

their work or lecture audiences before a performance.

Professors as well as world renowned performers can

share their research or virtuosity with students from

schools and universities all over the world.

T H E A U D I T O R I U M

Sketch layout for Sirius Hall auditorium prepared by ARUP

Interior of Guangzhou Opera House, China

The SPRING Alliance CIC will collaborate with a range of organisations to deliver pioneering education, research and learning programmes.

Whether it be working with public health research centres, universities, schools or technology partners, the aim will be to develop a platform for research for those interested in involving music performance in their studies.

From music cognition research projects with primary healthcare trusts to digital media and software research projects backed by a large corporate and seeking commercial channels, Sirius Hall will have the flexibility to transform itself overnight into a world leading music research laboratory.

The venue will provide a new shop window for the world promoting and selling the best of what Cambridge can provide

in education, research and learning.

E D U C A T I O N , R E S E A R C H A N D L E A R N I N G

L O C A L C O N T E X T

Extensive discussions and investigations on potential sites for the project have been ongoing during the last 24 months as have co-ordinated briefings with numerous sectors of the community including Cambridge University, the Colleges of Cambridge University, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Arts Council of England, the region’s business community, Cambridge University’s Faculty of Music, the Britten Sinfonia Orchestra as well as other music and arts organisations resident within the region.

Discussions with a number of architects have been held and a detailed analysis of local planning policies has been undertaken with support from expert advisors to ensure Sirius Hall will offer long-term benefits to the region and will fit well with the planning authorities’ broader set of political objectives for managing growth in the region.

The regional economic strategy for the East of England identifies Greater Cambridge as one of the seven ‘engines of growth’ for the region. The vision for the strategy clearly expresses the region’s direction of travel – the East of England, by2031,wantstobeknownas:‘Anideasdrivenregion,thatis internationally competitive, harnesses the talent of all and is at the forefront of the low carbon economy’.

Initial discussions with global brands in media technology and music production have met with strong initial support and interest in potentially occupying some of the innovation and research space.

Looking at the provision of concert hall facilities in competing top university towns in North America, interesting comparisons were made.

• Harvard:TheSandersTheatreisfamousforitsdesignandacousticandseats1,166.

• CornellUniversity’sDepartmentofMusicpromotesover one hundred concerts on campus each year, many in theBaileyHallwhich seats 1,326. It is also equipped forconferencing.

• PrincetonUniversity’sAlexanderHallseats900andis listed by an eminent sound engineer alongside Carnegie Hall in New york and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as one of the world’s acoustically ‘great’ concert halls.

• TheYaleSymphonyOrchestratourstheworldand,at home, performs in the Woolsey Hall to an audience of 2,695.

With the Asia Pacific region developing rapidly as well, attracting the best students with the best facilities is important to Cambridge University and its colleges.

P R O j E C T C O S T S A N D T I M E L I N E S

We are in discussions with the landowner (Trinity College, Cambridge) for the granting of an exclusive option period of no less than 2 years and a conditional agreement for a long lease on the site. Conditions of the agreement for lease would be the granting of planning consent and the proof of funds nec-essary to undertake the work. Once the charity had satisfied both conditions, the lease would become operable. Based on preliminary studies by ARUP, the total development costs are estimatedat£120million.

An outline guide on time lines for the project is as follows:

SiteFeasibility&ConceptDesignStudy 2012

Masterplanning earlytomid2013

PlanningDevelopment 2013–2016

BuildPhase1 (Corona) 2017

BuildPhase2 (SiriusHall) 2019

Opening 2020

The design of the venue will be undertaken in such a way as to attract donors to fund complete units, section at a time. Phase 1might include5units,Phase2,may includeupto4units.The timing of the build will therefore be dictated by the effi-ciency of the charity in raising the funds to match each unit’s build costs.

H O W y O U C A N H E L P

The SPRING Alliance CIC needs to raise a donation of

£100,000 tohelp this extraordinaryproject become reality.

The cost of the work is based on detailed quotes prepared by

ARUP and Edward Cullinan Architects who have been invited

to carry out the work.

The SPRING Alliance CIC is also seeking support from the

University and Colleges of Cambridge to:

• Formallyendorsetheproject

• FormallyendorseTheSPRINGAllianceCICto

deliver the project

• Formasteeringgroupwithrepresentativesof

both the University and Colleges of Cambridge and

senior members of the Faculty of Music to assist with

planning and communications

• Raisedonationstowardtheestimated£120million

capital development fund

Completing the Site Feasibility and Concept Design stages of

the project and securing the formal support and cooperation

of Cambridge University on the project proposals will mark a

significant stage in the project’s future.

With your support, Sirius Hall will become a reality.

For further information please contact

The SPRING Alliance CIC BenBowmaker+44(0)7833494010or bbowmaker@yahoo.co.ukwww.anid.co.uk/spring_3/

T H E P R O j E C T T E A M

Ben Bowmaker frsa

Director, The SPRING Alliance CIC

Ben is the man behind the project’s vision, author of the business plan and energy driving the project forward. Ben has over16yearsexperienceinseniormanagement.Havingsungas Chorister at Bath Abbey before going on to Wells Cathedral School, Ben studied as violinist and conductor at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has had a rich and varied career, from classical musician, through arts administration, to fundraising (most notably as part of the fundraising team responsible for raising $15m from Charles Schwabb andDickCranlichin2001foranonlineimagelicensingventure)to 6 years as senior executive and entrepreneur in the high-tech sector in Cambridge before eventually working with DiagNodus, a medical device company on the Babraham Research Campus developing a novel screening device for bowel cancer.

As the project progresses, senior appointments to the executive management team and board will be made to support the project as it progresses through its various phases. In addition, steering committees will also be formed to provide in-depth expert advice to the executive management team and board.

PROfEssiONAL ADvisORs AND CONsuLtANts

ARUP-Venueplanninganddesignconsultantandspecialistin concert hall acoustics

Bidwells - Commercial Real Estate and Property Consultants

Rob Hammond - Local government and community advisor

TaylorVinters-CharityLawyers-ChristineBerry

Arts Council England - Rachel Drury

Sinc Design Consultants - Graphics

Edward Cullinan Architects

Birketts - Property Development Planning

Cambridge Surveyors - Richard Taylor

Lady Solti Founder of the Solti Foundation and Patroness of the World Orchestra for Peace

ValerieGergiev PrincipleConductorofTheMariinskyTheatreConcertOrchestra

Stephen Fry Actor, Writer, Broadcaster and Comedian

Steven Bourne Chairman of Britten Sinfonia and Chairman of the CBI

Dame julia Cleverdon dcvo cbe VicePresidentofBusinessintheCommunity

Sir Peter Maxwell Davis Master of the Queen’s Music, Composer and Conductor

Sir Nicholas Kenyon cbe Managing Director, Barbican Centre

Sir Neville Marriner cbe Conductor

Nigel Brown obe HighSheriffofCambridge2010/11

ProfessorMikeThorne ViceChancellorofAngliaRuskinUniversity

Stephen Cleobury Director of Music, Kings College, Cambridge

Dr. Mary Archer Chairwoman of Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust, Cambridge

Baroness Linklater of Butterstone Liberal Democrat Peer

Christopher Hogwood cbe Artistic Director of The Academy of Ancient Music

The Lord Colwyn Deputy Speaker of The House of Lords

justin Lee Director of the Cambridge Music Festival

as well as a number of private individuals

A M B A S S A D O R S F O R T H E P R O j E C T

For further information please contact

The SPRING Alliance CIC

BenBowmaker+44(0)7833494010

or bbowmaker@yahoo.co.uk

www.anid.co.uk/spring_3/