The students of the Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, California, will have a shape-shifting audience to play to this term. The Wild Beast by architects Craig Hodgetts and Ming Fung is a music pavilion that transforms from outdoor performance space to air-tight concert and classroom venue.

Covering 3,200 sq ft, when the front wall is open the acoustic structure becomes a natural amphitheatre. For recitals al fresco, sound is projected from the building's curved back wall and focused by front windows that pivot to become acoustic awnings above the stage. In addition, The Wild Beast houses a permanent state-of-the-art 5.1 surround system. For Hodgett,  ‘Sound resonates in the building as it might in the body of a cello. The design draws on the same body of thought as the physics of instrument design.’

The Wild Beast will open to the public with a special performance event in spring 2010.