flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Szczecin Philharmonic Hall wins Mies van der Rohe Award 2015

Cultural Facilities

Szczecin Philharmonic Hall wins Mies van der Rohe Award 2015

The hall is composed following a Fibonacci sequence whose fragmentation increases with the distance from the scene.


By BD+C Staff | May 14, 2015
Szczecin Philharmonic Hall wins Mies van der Rohe Award 2015

Photo © Simon Menges via Fundació Mies van der Rohe

Barcelona-based firm Barozzi/Veiga snatched the premier architectural award given by the European Union this year, the 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award, for its work on the Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin, Poland.

This year, 420 projects were considered, Archinect reports. The number was cut down to 40, and then five finalists were chosen to compete for the first place €60,000 award.

According to Dezeen, the hall won against O’Donnell + Tuomey’s red brick student center at the London School of Economics and BIG’s Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingør.

The selection jury included Italian architect Zino Zucchi and the RIBA’s Tony Chapman, who visited all five finalists.

 

 

The building replaced the former WWII-era Konzerthaus of Szczecin. Studio Barozzi/Veiga’s building opened in September 2014. According to Archinect, the hall accommodates 1,000 spectators and includes a chamber hall for 200 spectators, a multifunctional exhibition and conference space, and a grand foyer that can be used to host functions.

From the jury:

The plan composition is defined by a perimetral ring. This element mostly hosts service spaces. On the one hand this allows to define a large void within which gravitate the symphony hall and the hall for chamber music, on the other hand to shape the relationship of the building with its surroundings. The serial modulation of the roof represents the only other expressive element, that permits the integration of the building within the fragmented urban profile of the city.

In its materiality, the building is perceived as a light element: the glass facade, illuminated from inside, depending on the use allows different perceptions. The exterior austerity and the simple composition of the interior circulation spaces contrast with the expressiveness of the main hall. In accordance with the central European tradition of the classical concert halls, decoration becomes ornament and function. The hall is composed following a Fibonacci sequence whose fragmentation increases with the distance from the scene, and gives shape to an ornamental space which reminds of the classical tradition through its gold-leaf covering.

The building predominantly adopts passive systems of energetic control. The main element is the double skin façade channeling a large part of the installation system to provide a global acoustic insulation and a natural ventilation to avoid overheating. Illuminated by a LED system, it turns the building in a glowing volume with a minimum energy consumption. The roof cladding is a multilayered pack, with differences over the concert hall than other zones, to optimize acoustics and thermal insulation.

Related Stories

| Feb 11, 2011

Former Richardson Romanesque hotel now houses books, not beds

The Piqua (Ohio) Public Library was once a late 19th-century hotel that sat vacant and deteriorating for years before a $12.3 million adaptive reuse project revitalized the 1891 building. The design team of PSA-Dewberry, MKC Associates, and historic preservation specialist Jeff Wray Associates collaborated on the restoration of the 80,000-sf Richardson Romanesque building, once known as the Fort Piqua Hotel. The team restored a mezzanine above the lobby and repaired historic windows, skylight, massive fireplace, and other historic details. The basement, with its low ceiling and stacked stone walls, was turned into a castle-like children’s center. The Piqua Historical Museum is also located within the building.

| Feb 11, 2011

Sustainable community center to serve Angelinos in need

Harbor Interfaith Services, a nonprofit serving the homeless and working poor in the Harbor Area and South Bay communities of Los Angeles, engaged Withee Malcolm Architects to design a new 15,000-sf family resource center. The architects, who are working pro bono for the initial phase, created a family-centered design that consolidates all programs into a single building. The new three-story space will house a resource center, food pantry, nursery and pre-school, and administrative offices, plus indoor and outdoor play spaces and underground parking. The building’s scale and setbacks will help it blend with its residential neighbors, while its low-flow fixtures, low-VOC and recycled materials, and energy-efficient mechanical equipment and appliances will help it earn LEED certification.

| Feb 11, 2011

Texas megachurch inspired by yesteryear’s materials, today’s design vocabulary

The third phase of The First Baptist Church of Pasadena, Texas, involves construction of a new 115,000-sf worship center addition. Currently in design by Zeigler Cooper, the project will include a 2,500-seat worship center (with circular layout and space for a 50-person orchestra and 200-person choir), a 500-seat chapel (for weddings, funerals, and special events), and a prayer room. The addition will connect to the existing church and create a Christian Commons for education, administration, music, and fellowship. The church asked for a modern design that uses traditional materials, such as stone, brick, and stained glass. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

| Feb 11, 2011

Four-story library at Salem State will hold half a million—get this—books!

Salem State University in Massachusetts broke ground on a new library and learning center in December. The new four-story library will include instructional labs, group study rooms, and a testing center. The modern, 124,000-sf design by Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch includes space for 500,000 books and study space for up to a thousand students. Sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

| Jan 21, 2011

Sustainable history center exhibits Fort Ticonderoga’s storied past

Fort Ticonderoga, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., along Lake Champlain, dates to 1755 and was the site of battles in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The new $20.8 million, 15,000-sf Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center pays homage to the French magasin du Roi (the King’s warehouse) at the fort.

| Jan 21, 2011

Library planned for modern media enthusiasts

The England Run Library, a new 30,000-sf glass, brick, and stone building, will soon house more than 100,000 books and DVDs. The Lukmire Partnership, Arlington, Va., designed the Stafford County, Va., library, the firm’s fourth for the Central Rappahannock Library System, to combine modern library-browsing trends with traditional library services.

| Jan 21, 2011

Music festival’s new home showcases scenic setting

Epstein Joslin Architects, Cambridge, Mass., designed the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Mass., to showcase the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, as well at the site’s ocean views.

| Jan 20, 2011

Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere

The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.

| Jan 20, 2011

Construction begins on second St. Louis community center

O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.

| Jan 19, 2011

Industrial history museum gets new home in steel plant

The National Museum of Industrial History recently renovated the exterior of a 1913 steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa., to house its new 40,000-sf exhibition space. The museum chose VOA Associates, which is headquartered in Chicago, to complete the design for the exhibit’s interior. The exhibit, which has views of five historic blast furnaces, will feature artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution to illustrate early industrial America.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.


Museums

Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition

In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s. 



Cultural Facilities

Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center

When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021