02 · Berklee School of Music Performance Center
Spotlight
"Spotlight" is a performance center and educational hub for the Berklee College of Music, situated at a prominent urban intersection in Boston. Driven by the metaphor of the spotlight, the design uses calibrated daylight to celebrate the daily, often hidden, rituals of musical practice. By vertically stacking public venues—including a 1,200-seat theater and a 400-seat black box—with private maker spaces, the architecture blurs the boundary between the city and the stage, transforming the building into a continuous environment of performance and observation.
- Location
- 130 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA
- Year
- Fall 2024
- Role
- Individual Work
- Instructor
- Eric Höweler, Harvard GSD
The Performative Loop
- A continuous looping path spirals upward through the building, functioning not just as movement, but as a performative space that blurs the line between audience and artist.
- The design deliberately blurs the line between practice and presentation, transforming hidden musical rituals into visible, curated urban events.
- Program stack: 1,200-seat main theater, 400-seat flexible black box, public interaction zone, and an urban observation deck where architecture acts as a city stage.
Performative Façade & Climate
Terracotta façade system modulates daylight and natural ventilation based on solar orientation, framing curated views of student life from the street.
- Day: Calibrated apertures filter sunlight, casting dynamic "spotlights" into practice spaces.
- Night: The building reverses into a glowing urban stage, revealing its inner life.
Models
- Conceptual model 1/32" = 1'-0"
- Section models 1/16" = 1'-0"
- Façade fragment model ¼" = 1'-0"
"Spotlight" is an architecture of layered experience, where students do not wait for a stage to perform—they move through one.