Perth Concert Hall (Western Australia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Perth Concert Hall |
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| General information | |
| Status | Closed for renovation |
| Type | Concert hall |
| Architectural style | Brutalist |
| Town or city | Perth, Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 614: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Current tenants |
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| Construction started | 1971 |
| Opened | 26 January 1973 |
| Cost | A$3.2M |
| Owner | City of Perth |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Howlett & Bailey |
| Main contractor | Transfield |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1,729 people (main auditorium) |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 12 July 2002 |
| Reference no. | 4571 |
The Perth Concert Hall is a special building in Perth, Western Australia. It is a place where people go to listen to live music and see performances. The City of Perth owns this hall. It is the main home for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Many other exciting shows and events also happen here.
The hall is in the middle of Perth's city area. It sits next to beautiful Supreme Court Gardens and Government House. The building has two main sides. One side faces St Georges Terrace, and the other looks out over the Swan River.
The Perth Concert Hall opened on Australia Day, January 26, 1973. It was built on land given by the government. The architects, Howlett & Bailey, designed it in a style called Brutalist. This style uses a lot of white concrete and has a strong, solid look. The main room, called the auditorium, can hold 1,729 people. It also has a special area for a 160-person choir and a huge 3,000-pipe organ. Many people think the hall has some of the best sound quality in Australia. A sound expert from New Zealand, Harold Marshall, helped make it sound so good.
Contents
History of the Concert Hall
The story of the Perth Concert Hall began in 1950. The government gave land to the City of Perth for new buildings. Architects Howlett & Bailey first designed two buildings. One was for offices, and the other was meant to be an auditorium. Because of money issues, only the office building was built first. This building, called Council House, opened in 1963.
Later, in 1968, Howlett & Bailey were chosen again to design the concert hall. Construction started in 1971 by a company called Transfield. The hall officially opened on January 26, 1973. The Governor General at the time, Paul Hasluck, opened it. The Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, was also there.
In January 2015, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra started managing the hall. They took over from another company that had managed it since 1999. In April 2018, the City of Perth approved a big upgrade for the hall. This upgrade cost $1.4 million.
A much larger project to improve the concert hall was announced in 2020. This redevelopment is costing $150 million. The government of Western Australia, the federal government, and the City of Perth are all helping to pay for it. In March 2022, two architecture firms, With Architecture Studio and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), were chosen to lead the design. The hall closed in 2025 to begin this major renovation.
How the Hall Was Designed
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View of the auditorium from back stalls towards the stage and organ
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Interior detail of the Perth Concert Hall, showing the stage and pipe organ
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The concert hall displays elements of brutalist architecture
The architects Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey from Howlett & Bailey designed the hall. They won a competition in 1961 for a town hall and auditorium. Their first idea was for two separate buildings. One would be for offices, and the other, shaped like an oval, would be the auditorium. The office building, Council House, was built first. But there were worries about the auditorium's sound quality and the cost. So, building the auditorium was put on hold.
A new plan for the concert hall was approved in the late 1960s. This plan aimed for a hall that could hold up to 2,000 people. It was meant to cost no more than $2 million. The most important goal was for it to be great for music. This included symphony concerts, choir performances, and organ recitals. It also needed to be suitable for other events like ballet, folk dances, and even school speech days.
The plans were changed several times in 1969. These changes included making the area around the hall more beautiful. They also added a special pit for a 60-piece orchestra. This pit could be covered with flooring and seats when not in use. Better access for people with disabilities was also added. The first plans included a very large restaurant. But after looking at other halls, they decided a smaller restaurant was better. They also added a tavern and a cocktail bar. The bar area was named the Wardle Room.
The architects wanted the hall's lobby areas to be like changing art galleries. They imagined different art shows, like paintings and sculptures, being displayed there. This is why the Perth City Council had a big discussion about whether to accept a gift of 64 wildflower paintings from artist Sidney Nolan. After much talk, Nolan took back his offer. It's interesting that the very first art show in the hall's lobbies featured 54 of Nolan's wildflower paintings.
Many experts helped design the building. These included people who specialized in sound (acoustics), building structures, and even escalators and lighting. Harold Marshall, the acoustics expert, worked closely with the architects. He used computer models to figure out how well everyone would hear in every seat. He wanted the main auditorium to be a "Great Room," like famous halls in Amsterdam and Vienna. These halls are known for their amazing sound.
The Perth Concert Hall is a great example of brutalist architecture. It has a strong, solid inside, a large roof that sticks out, and uses white concrete. It looks very different from the more open design of the nearby Council House.
The auditorium has a special 3,000-pipe organ. It is surrounded by a choir area for 160 people. The audience can sit in 1,729 seats. This organ was custom-made and cost $100,000. It was built by Ronald Sharp from Sydney, who also built the organ for the Sydney Opera House. The biggest pipes for the organ came all the way from the Netherlands. A large Steinway concert grand piano was also brought from West Germany for the hall.
The Perth Concert Hall was the first in Australia to have a "show relay" system. This means people who arrive late can watch the performance on screens in the lobby. This way, they don't disturb the show when they enter.
What Happens at the Hall
The Perth Concert Hall is known for having some of the best sound quality for music in Australia. Many famous performers from around the world have played here. These include orchestras like the London Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony. Popular artists like B.B. King, Sting, k.d. lang, Harry Connick Jr., Melissa Etheridge, Ray Charles, Rowan Atkinson and Billy Connolly have also performed.
Most of the concerts by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra are held at the Perth Concert Hall. They also use the venue for their practice sessions.
The hall is also used for other big events. These include national meetings, exhibitions, award ceremonies, and fancy dinners. For example, there was a Steinway piano exhibition in March 2008. Different parts of the hall, like the lobbies, bar, and café, can also be used for private parties or company events.
Connection with Scotland
On September 27, 2006, the Perth Concert Hall made a special connection with the Perth Concert Hall, Scotland. They signed an agreement to be "twin" venues. Because of this, the Perth Concert Hall in Australia now flies the St Andrews Flag at its entrance to celebrate this friendship.
Images for kids
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Rows of seats in the audience seating area, and balcony seats on the sides and back.
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Top of circular staircase ascending anti-clockwise. Made from cream-coloured concrete, floor covered with red carpet.
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Right side of the middle of the circular staircase, viewed from below.
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Bottom of the circular staircase, as seen from the ground floor.
See also
- List of concert halls
