INSTITUTO CASALNUOVO - MATERA'S MUSIC CONSERVATOIRE

The following proposal is for the expansion of ‘Conservatorio di Matera’, Matera’s music Conservatoire. The new ‘Instituto Casalnuovo campus provides a 480-seat concert hall and doubles the school’s current student capacity. The current music establishment lacks the facilities for coping with a continually increasing number of student applications. The school expansion offers valuable staff positions and educational facilities at a crucial time. Due to a lack of opportunity, Matera is suffering from high rates of unemployment and depopulation, especially of its younger generations. The proposal sits in the Sassi neighbourhood, a UNESCO world heritage site famous for its troglodyte settlement. In the 1950s, it was known as the ‘Shame of Italy’ for being one of the poorest places in the country. The cave-dwelling farming community was relocated to social housing in the 1960s after the government declared the site living conditions as ‘deplorable’. The Instituto Casalnuovo proposal engages with the current local government efforts to move away from tourism and re-purpose the troglodyte settlement in more meaningful ways. The proposal helps revive the neighbourhood through the celebration of the existing and growing music culture and encourages the re-engagement of locals with the cultural neighbourhood.