Popular Music Architecture

Introduction to the Research

On the 15th August 1965 The Beatles performed before more than 50,000 fans at Shea Stadium, New York, USA. In what was by far the biggest event to date of its type, a dramatic revelation of the commercial possibilities of popular music took place and changed the nature of the music business forever. Simultaneously, despite using more powerful amplification than had been used before, the virtually non-existent connection between the musicians and their audience revealed the enormous technical and architectural challenges of large-scale concerts. This was one of the pivotal moments in popular music history, an event that had immense cultural resonance, establishing critical creative and commercial ramifications that were inextricably connected with the architectural space that supported not only that specific event, but the cellars, clubs, and halls in which the Beatles had honed their performances and gained their reputation.

U2 360 Degrees mobile stage set, Mark Fisher with Chuck Hoberman. ©Mark Fisher, Stufish
U2 360 Degrees mobile stage set, Mark Fisher with Chuck Hoberman. ©Mark Fisher, Stufish

Live Architecture: The History and Development of Popular Music Performance Architecture

A research project led by Professor Robert Kronenburg,
Roscoe Chair of Architecture,
The Liverpool School of Architecture,
University of Liverpool, UK

The aim of this research project is to examine the contemporary state of the art in popular music performance space, and to prepare its first definitive architectural history, describing its inception, development, and consolidation. The research examines in detail the design and form of popular music architecture, and charts how it has been developed in ad-hoc ways by non-professionals such as venue owners, promoters and the musicians themselves, and professionally, by architects, designers, and construction specialists. It explores the impact that the use of public space for performance has on urban identity, and how it influences the way city, and to a lesser extent, rural space is perceived and used. Like architecture, popular music is neither static nor standardised, it continuously develops and has multiple strands. This research quantifies the factors that have determined the development of venue architecture focusing on both famous and less well-known examples from the smallest bar room music space to the largest stadium-filling rock set.

The project is based on library and archive research, building visits, concert experience, interviews with designers, promotors, managers and musicians. A programme of dissemination via invited lectures, conference

News

Robert Kronenburg’s new book This Must Be The Place: An Architectural History of Popular Music Performance Venues has been published by Bloomsbury, New York with a book launch at the Victoria Gallery and Museum’s Leggate Theatre on 20th March 2019.

Liverpool's Musical Landscapes by Sara Cohen and Robert Kronenburg has been published by Historic England and launched at the British Music Experience in June 2018. More info.

Robert Kronenburg has been made an associate of the Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool. Click here for more info.

Robert Kronenburg has been invited by the City of Melbourne as a keynote speaker to the inaugural Melbourne Music Week Symposium, Australia on 12th November, which will 'explore the concept of what makes a music city successful’. He will also participate in the Face the Music Conference and Industry Summit which takes place over the following two days. Click here to contact.

Robert Kronenburg is convener for a panel presentation at the IASPM UK and Ireland 2014 Conference, September 11-14, 2014, University College, Cork.

The panel is called Sounding out the City: urban music making in a changing world. He will present a paper alongside Sara Cohen, director of the University of Liverpool, Institute of Popular Music and Brett Lashua, senior lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Robert Kronenburg is to provide a keynote address to the International Conference on Adaptation and Movement in Architecture (ICAMA 2013) to be held at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada on 11-12th October 2013. http://www.icama2013.com

28th March 2013. Travel Grant Award
Robert Kronenburg has been awarded a travel grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art to undertake travel to libraries and archive collections in support of the project 'An Architectural History of Popular Music'.

The book Live Architecture: Popular Music Venues, Stages and Arenas has now been published by Routledge, Oxford, UK and NewYork, USA.

Robert Kronenburg has been awarded a Senior Research Fellowship from the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust to carry out research leading to the publication of the first definitive history of buildings used for popular music.

The project is called The Architectural History of Popular Music Performance Space and will begin on 1st September 2012. The objective is to publish the 85,000 word book in 2015 with journal articles and web essays appearing during the intervening period

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