Overlooking the lake, Wycombe Abbey’s performing arts centre is set in a beautiful location. The Lancaster Arts Centre opened in 1987, joined by the neighbouring music school in 1998 (together known as LAC & PAC). While the facilities are well equipped with excellent technology, the buildings are a little outdated. The entrance is underwhelming and the warren-like corridors make orientation difficult.
We proposed a series of small internal interventions that reinvigorate the buildings. A new infill creates a warm and bright double-height atrium that sits at the heart of the buildings: this flexible space creates better connections between the music and drama departments and will be used as a social hub throughout the day, as well as for events.
We’ve also reconfigured dead-end routes, and selective demolition and the introduction of rooflights and glazed screens brings daylight into the circulation.
This is the first of the projects from our masterplan. It is a modest project, but one that will greatly improve staff and students’ daily experience. It’s also an important quick win that paves the way for the new Innovation and Design Centre: sitting behind the performing arts centre and music school, this is set to be a thoroughfare to the IDC, making the atrium an even more useful asset as a place to meet friends between classes.
