Cedars Hall - Wells Cathedral School | Eric Parry Architects

The stunning Cedars Hall provides flexible spaces for rehearsal, performing and recording. The building includes a recital hall that can accommodate an audience of over 340 people and offers professional quality facilities for the music school and the wider community. The building is set into the landscape of Cedars Field, the grounds to the Grade 2* listed Cedars House, and responds to the school’s heritage and setting with a considered palette of materials, including weathering steel, timber and clear glazing.
The hall’s interior incorporates warm timber paneling, with full height glazing that creates visual connections with the surrounding landscape and allows natural light to fill the interior spaces; in the evenings, the building appears as a lantern on the landscape, uplifting the surrounding exterior areas.
Both the stage and seating can be adjusted allowing different configurations for both performances and rehearsals. Differing acoustic qualities are achieved with easily adjustable wall panels, and the exposed timber roof structure enhances the acoustic performance of the space. The hall can be used for orchestral music, choir, amplified music, drama, dance and lectures.
The practice has also designed a new sports pavilion on the site, offering Sport England standard
accommodation for two teams and spectators adjacent to the county standard cricket pitch, as well as the restoration of the historic landscape of Cedars Field, which is also formed part of this application. Commenting on the project getting the green light, Eric Parry said:
“The progression of the scheme is a significant step towards adding to the school’s rich history. The new building will create fantastic, modern interior spaces whilst also making a confident architectural statement that is in tune with its surroundings.”