Concert Hall as a New Public Plaza
>
Zaha Hadid Architects have been selected by the jury of the international design competition to build the new Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Considered the capital of the Urals, the city of Yekaterinburg is Russia’s third largest economy. Yekaterinburg has built a rich musical tradition and established its reputation as a cultural and artistic centre. The city’s acclaimed Ural Philharmonic Orchestra has performed in more than 20 countries and collaborates with renowned artists worldwide. The orchestra cultivates aspiring young talent and has as its foundation a dedicated, passionate and growing society of music lovers in Yekaterinburg and around the world. Performing to full houses all year round in the existing Sverdlovsk Philharmonic building that dates from 1936, the orchestra’s new home will provide an inspirational venue to meet the increasing popularity of the orchestra’s programme of concerts – and also create a new public plaza for the people of the city.
Echoing the physical aspects of sound waves, the design of the new Philharmonic Concert Hall is based on the properties of musical sound resonance creating wave vibrations in a continuous smooth surface. The design re-interprets these physical acoustic properties to define spaces for the auditoria that are suspended within the canopy, appearing to float above the new civic plaza that is both the lobby of the Philharmonic Concert Hall and an enclosed urban square.
Providing a 1,600-seat Concert Hall and a 400-seat Chamber Music Hall of the highest acoustic standards, these new auditoria are nestled within the surface deformations of the suspended canopy; liberating the lobbies from obstructions to open this space as a vibrant new gathering place for the local community.
This new 21st century addition will inhabit the void between the existing buildings and Weiner Gardens; not competing with these heritage buildings, but complementing the ensemble that will include the preservation and renovation of the current concert hall as an integral element of the new world-class facility that will be one of the focal points of the city’s cultural life.
Zaha Hadid Architects
