Paterson Architects were commissioned by Belhaven Hill School in East Lothian to design their new Music Department. The two storey building completes the final corner of an existing single storey courtyard teaching block, which forms a through route from the main school building to further classrooms and staff residences. The main building is a B-Listed former country house in expansive grounds, which contain the school campus.

The new accommodation includes: Two classrooms, one of which also functions as a flexible performance space; nine practice rooms and ancillary accommodation. The principal entrance cuts back on the corner to form a new central focus in the courtyard and an informal gathering space for pupils.

The new building makes reference to the architectural characteristics of the existing classrooms on the courtyard, in terms of form and materials. The existing buildings are single storey with solid enclosing exterior walls, 15 degree pitched roofs sloping inwards to fully glazed interior walls. The new building inverts the roof pitch to provide two storey accommodation, with a larger ‘dormer’ adjacent to the B-Listed walled garden opposite.

The walls of the new building are perforated with vertically-proportioned and round aluminium windows to suit the position of teaching and practice rooms. The Sto render has horizontal grooves, used both to weather the largest surfaces and control the hierarchy of the elevations. Circular windows illuminate the main performance space, thereby the West Elevation hints at the musical activity within by echoing the staff, rests & notes of musical scores.

Planning Consent was granted in June 2006 and the 300m2 building started on site in July 2006. The inaugural concert took place on 7 June 2007, 20 months after Paterson Architects were appointed.