REVERB!

The live music scene exemplifies unprecedented strength in defining city character. Places describe themselves based on their provision, creating a city culture that may musically be identified with. Applied to architecture, this culture evolves from local music venues constructing spaces for connection. However, how can these venues be developed, and how can these identities be reinvigorated and amplified if they are no longer prominent for the benefit of city character?

Te Papaioea Palmerston North is a city often overlooked. Considered the ‘boredom capital’ of New Zealand, it is a city in desperate need of a strengthened identity. However, through the subject of Music, that was not always true. During the seventies to nineties, Palmerston North had a Nightclub boom that accelerated faster than other cities, with the city also becoming a destination for a range of international acts. This thesis finds itself in a present Palmerston North music context, utilising the development of local live music venues as an architectural tool in reinvigorating and amplifying the city of Palmerston North and its identity.

The research follows a design-led methodology implementing research-through-design. This thesis aims to (1) understand the relationship between Architecture/Music, (2) understand the selected site Papaioea Palmerston North concerning the past, present, and future generally and musically, (3) understand the relationship between Architecture/Identity, and (4) understand the relationship between Architecture/Music/Identity. The implications are establishing Architecture and Music as a tool to reinvigorate, create, and amplify a sense of identity and social cohesion for Te Papaioea Palmerston North.