Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center - Interior

Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center

Location

Seattle, Washington

Owner

Seattle Symphony

Collaborators +

Design-Build Contractor: JTM Construction

Acoustics and A/V: Jaffe Holden

Theater Planning: Schuler Shook

Immersive Technology: Belle & Wissell, Co.

Structural Engineering: Magnusson Klemencic Associates

Mechanical Engineering: Holaday-Parks, Inc.

Electrical Engineering: Sequoyah Electric

Lighting Design: Schuler Shook

Graphics/Signage: Studio Matthews

Project Size

Renovated area: 2,500 square feet

Project Status

Completed

Services

Architecture, Interior Design, Renovation + Adaptive Reuse

Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center at Benaroya Hall redefines the performance and educational arts venue for the Seattle Symphony through immersive digital acoustics and advanced projection technology. This interior renovation creates a flexible “electronic architecture” that can acoustically transform from an intimate room to a grand concert hall. Designed with a focus on equity, Octave 9 serves as an incubator for underrepresented communities, expanding access to experimentation and supporting the Symphony’s educational mission.

The venue accommodates performances, meetings, and community events, offering nearly 360-degree interactive projections for a fully immersive experience. All surfaces are acoustically absorptive, and a custom ceiling—comprising 687 sound-absorbing cells—integrates 10 projectors, 72 speakers, 28 microphones, and 68 color-changing LED lights, along with lighting and HVAC systems. The result is an intimate, highly adaptable space that fosters artistic innovation and community engagement in a transformative environment.

Photography: Benjamin Benschneider

Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center - Systems Plan

Technology systems are integrated into the original structure, and the custom-designed acoustically absorptive ceiling holistically reflects the character of the room derived from the systems and the architecture.

Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center - Interior
Octave 9: Raisbeck Music Center - Interior

A near 360° projection surface can be created through deploying up to 13 curved panels that are paired with 10 ultra-short throw projectors.

“The ideas and resulting architecture produced are innovative and resourceful.”

– Laura Reynolds, Vice President of Education & Community Engagement, Seattle Symphony
Belle and Wissell - Logo

Belle & Wissell, Co.

Immersive Technology

Website

Selected Awards

2021 Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award

2020 IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter INawards, INpublic Award

2019 AIA Washington Council Civic Design Award, Honorable Mention