| Address: | Harringans Lane |
| Location City: | Willsons Downfall, NSW |
| Location Country: | Australia |
| Destruction Date: | --> |
| Unit Count: | --> |
A Piano Mill is a hybrid building and musical instrument located at Willsons Downfall in Northern New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and purpose-built to house sixteen reclaimed pianos in a tower structure. The instrument is designed to have the sixteen pianos played simultaneously.[1]
The first Piano Mill, constructed in Willsons Downfall, Northern New South Wales, Australia, was designed by architect Bruce Wolfe specifically for composer Erik Griswold.[2] This structure is a copper clad tower approximately 9m tall with a footprint of 4.5m X 4.5m and its lowest floor is 1.6m above the ground allowing the pianos to be installed post-construction.[3] The mill is equipped with tuned grader blades as chimes and two sonic periscopes. To launch The Piano Mill, Griswold composed a new work, All’s grist that comes to the mill, that responds to various influences such as architecture, the natural environment and Australia's colonial history.[4] [5] It was performed in the Piano Mill on Sunday March 27, 2016, and since that time there have been two subsequent pieces written for the instrument.[6]
The first Piano Mill has won awards including a World Architecture Festival 2018 Award for the Culture category, a National Commendation at the Australian Institute of Architects 2017 Awards and a National Award for Experimental Music at the 2017 APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards.