National Centre for Popular Music
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The National Centre for Popular Music was a museum in Sheffield, England for contemporary music and culture, a £15 million pound project largely funded with contributions from the National Lottery, which opened in March 1999, and closed in July 2000. The architect was Nigel Coates.
The building consists of four giant stainless steel drums, surrounding an atrium area, the upper floor off which has a glazed roof. The drums, whose tops were built to rotate in to the wind, no longer rotate and have been left pointing in various directions. The unusual building has had a number of local nicknames including the curling stones, drums and kettles. The Museum featured a 3D surround sound auditorium in one of the drums (called Soundscapes) created by Sheffield-based musician and producer Martyn Ware, who later used the same technology as the basis for his touring project "The Future of Sound". Two other drums were called Perspectives (music for different purposes) and Making Music (hands on). The final drum was used to show music around the world, but was supposed to accommodate changing exhibitions - this never happened as the museum closed.
The ground floor contained office space, a shop, a bar, a cafe and a further exhibition space. Access to this floor was free, with only the top floor forming the museum.
However, the Centre failed to attract enough visitors to ensure its viability — BBC News described the centre as having been "shunned" by visitors, and, despite a £2 million relaunch, the Centre closed for good, becoming a live music venue for a period and then being taken over by Sheffield Hallam University. It is now a Students' Union, with one space used as a community radio station.
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