Music Box Foundation

Project Partner
Music Box Foundation


Project Mission
Transform a former firehouse into a vibrant community arts hub by expanding access to music education, performance space, and creative opportunities for Chicago’s South Side. 

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Music Box Foundation provides free music education, mentorship, and creative opportunities for young people, offering a vital space for artistic growth and community connection. Currently housed in a former firehouse, the organization faces challenges in running concurrent classes due to a lack of acoustic separation and dedicated rehearsal spaces. Additionally, the absence of a performance venue limits opportunities for students to showcase their work and engage with the broader community. 

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Through a collaborative design process, our engagement workshops helped shape the vision for this transformation, ensuring the design reflects the needs and aspirations of those who use the space. The renovation and expansion plan will introduce new rehearsal and classroom spaces with proper acoustic separation, a dedicated performance space at the rear of the building, creating a venue for students to share their talents and for the community to gather. 

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Music Box Foundation Site Plan
Architecture for Public Benefit – Music Box Foundation Model
Music Box Foundation Concept Diagram APB

The building is organized around a solid central core that consolidates circulation, storage, kitchen, bathrooms, and other fixed support spaces. This efficient layout makes the most of the footprint and allows the surrounding areas to remain open and flexible. As a result, we are able to create three graduated program spaces—small, medium, and large—that can be customized and adapted over time based on Music Box Foundation’s evolving needs.

Music Box Foundation Program Diagram APB

To support Music Box Foundation’s wide range of programs, the design introduces three flexible spaces at distinct scales: small, medium, and large, each acoustically separated to allow simultaneous use. This approach maximizes adaptability while ensuring that sound-sensitive activities can happen in parallel.

  • Small: Soundproofed room for small classes, staff meetings, and additional practice space.
  • Medium: Multi-purpose classroom and gathering space, suitable for smaller performances and indoor lunch, with direct loading access.
  • Large: Full practice and performance hall with a mobile stage, sound system, and capacity for large events.

Together, these spaces allow multiple programs to run simultaneously while remaining adaptable to evolving needs.

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Music Box Model Architecture for Public Benefit
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ABP Team
Chana Haouzi, Matthew Okazaki, Akima Brackeen, Lev Ko, AC Manning, Qianye Wu

Collaborators
Music Box Foundation

Architecture For Public Benefit is a Chicago and Boston based practice on a mission to make exceptional design accessible to all.

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