In 2012 Hoskins Architects were shortlisted as one of ten teams to participate in the international competition for a new purpose built music centre for the Bochum Symphony Orchestra on the site of the Marienkirche in Bochum.
The proposal retains the socially significant landmark Marienkirche and houses the 250 seat multipurpose space under the original vaulted space of the church nave. The new purpose built 1000 seat concert hall is contained within a perforated brick volume echoing the materiality, massing and orientation of the existing church to the south of the site. Between these two volumes a new urban square faces the main public approach, landscaped to encourage public use and lead people towards the entrance in the glazed colonnaded skirt which connects the two venues. Behind the colonnade the double height foyer space forms a visible connection between the new and the old of the concert hall and the church, encouraging a sense of openness and accessibility to the musical experience.