© Simon Menges
The Philharmonic Concert Hall, located in the center of the Polish city of Szczecin, was completed in 2014 by the Spanish-Italian architectural duo Barozzi Veiga. The building’s striking design has won international acclaim, including the prestigious European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe in 2015.
With its unique geometric form and bold use of materials, the Philharmonic Concert Hall stands out as a remarkable example of contemporary architecture. Its facade, made of ribbed glass and a latticework of concrete panels, creates a sense of depth and texture, while the interior is designed to provide an exceptional acoustic experience.
The Philharmonic Concert Hall has become a cultural hub for the city of Szczecin, hosting a wide variety of concerts and events throughout the year. Its cutting-edge design and world-class facilities have made it a destination for music lovers and architecture enthusiasts alike.
Philharmonic Hall Szczecin Technical Information
- Architects1-6: Estudio Barozzi Veiga
- Location: Szczecin, Poland
- Area: 13,000 sqm
- Project Year: 2014
- Photographs: © Simon Menges
With an expressionist mindset, we have aimed to use geometry to give shape to a new rhythmic composition that conveys feelings by balancing massiveness and verticality.
– Barozzi Veiga Architects
Philharmonic Hall Szczecin Photographs
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
Text by the architects
The building emerges from its urban context, influenced by the steeply pitched roofs and the verticality of the city’s residential buildings, by the monumentality of the upright ornaments of its neo-Gothic churches and the massive volumes of its Classicist buildings, by the towers that dot its entire skyline and the cranes of its port.
With an expressionist mindset, we have aimed to use geometry to give shape to a new rhythmic composition that conveys feelings by balancing massiveness and verticality.
The use of glass as the exterior cladding material highlights how the building contrasts with the conditions of its surrounding environment. It creates a bright, transparent, and upstanding object.
Material and Technology
The façade of the Philharmonic Hall is designed to achieve a uniform appearance, both by day and by night. The vertical shapes define the structure of the entire building volume and are reflected in the silhouette of the building as a whole.
The double skin façade gives an intelligent answer to the question of how to enclose the building with a uniform appearance, even with a very complex program inside. The double skin provides improved global acoustic insulation and has natural ventilation to avoid overheating. All around the building’s perimeter, an innovative system of LED lighting is designed and turns the building into a glowing lightbox by night.
The roof continues the same language of color and pattern as the façade. A multilayered pack with a white corrugated aluminum finish clad the big steel trusses. For sustainable reasons, different roof packages have been designed with the same exterior appearance and thermal insulation but with various acoustic performances.
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
The interior skin of the façade was designed to perform as an acoustic wall. Its vibrant vertical rhythm follows the entrance hall and continues to the different foyers around the concert halls. The perfect acoustic performance of these walls is adapted for a significant number of visitors and creates the possibility of organizing different cultural events. For structural and acoustic reasons, both concert halls are built in concrete. The music hall is an open-up box: a light steel structure covered with carefully designed wooden cladding suspends over the audience and orchestra, providing excellent acoustics.
In contrast to the progressive exterior envelope, the interiors’ focus is the use of traditional craftsman’s techniques and materials: handmade hydraulic floor tiles and gold leaves gilding for the symphonic hall.
The building’s interiors are simple, large skylights being their utmost defining trait. The great symphonic hall differs from these in that it is a sculpted object embedded into a barely outlined mineral-like space.
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
© Simon Menges
Function and Use
The Philharmonic Hall is mainly focused on musical and cultural performances. This program will not only be performed in the concert halls but spread out all over the building. The different scales and variations of public spaces, acoustic claddings, and studied illumination create the possibility that all spaces can be used as a scenario for different kinds of spectacles and cultural events.
The monumental entrance hall is an ample space with lots of daylight entering from the roof’s skylights. The hall is shaped by the volumes of the two concert halls and a theatrical staircase. This staircase is a spatial experience in itself, bringing users through the different levels of the building and passing from the entrances to the concert halls, by the elegant VIP room, to a spectacular multifunctional space just below the pitched roof.
This multi-purpose space can be used for exhibitions, conferences, or other cultural events and has big voids that create views and interactions with the entrance hall. The concert halls are thought of as two boxes suspended inside the building. Different foyers are organized around these volumes creating a unique route through the building. The main symphonic hall seats 951 people to enjoy the pleasures of making and listening to music.
The space appears as a warm, golden space with the charm of a classical concert hall. The impressive triangular shapes on the walls and ceiling are designed to create a sublime acoustic. Like in the entrance hall, natural light can enter from big skylights at the symphonic hall’s front and backside. This natural light changes the golden surface along the seasons.
The chamber hall has a capacity of 192 seats. This black box has a simple curved ceiling and can host all kinds of small concerts and performances. A big window at the back of the audience brings natural light to the space. The new building is the residence of the Philharmonic orchestra of Szczecin, including all its functions of repetition spaces, changing rooms, and administration.
Philharmonic Hall Szczecin Plans
Philharmonic Hall Szczecin Image Gallery
About Barozzi Veiga
Barozzi Veiga was founded in Barcelona by Fabrizio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga in 2004. The practice has since worked internationally in public and private projects, and its work has received several prestigious distinctions. Its body of work includes cultural (Basel National History Museum), educational, residential buildings (House in Cretas), and civic projects.
- Architect in Charge: Fabrizio Barozzi, Alberto Veiga
- Project Leaders: Pieter Janssens, Agnieszka Samsel
- Project Team: Marta Grządziel, Isak Mayor, Petra Jossen, Cristina Lucena, Cristina Porta, Ruben Sousa
- Structural Engineers: BOMA S.L., FORT POLSKA Sp.
- Acoustics: ARAU ACUSTICA
- General Contractor: WARBUD S.A
I wish you could talk a little more about the hydraulic floor tiles and other flooring materials used in the hall
The Philharmonic Concert Hall Szczecin is a stunning example of contemporary architecture. The use of hydraulic floor tiles and other flooring materials in the hall is an interesting aspect of the building’s design, and it’s worth exploring further.
The hydraulic floor tiles used in the Philharmonic Concert Hall Szczecin are a traditional material that dates back to the 19th century. These tiles are made by pressing a mixture of cement, sand, and pigments into a mold and then hydraulically compressing it. The resulting tile is highly durable and can be produced in a wide range of colors and patterns.
In the Philharmonic Concert Hall Szczecin, the hydraulic floor tiles were used to create a distinctive pattern in the lobby, which gives the space a sense of grandeur and elegance. The tiles were also used in the main hall, where they were paired with a specially designed acoustic system to create a warm and resonant sound.
Other flooring materials used in the Philharmonic Concert Hall Szczecin include oak parquet in the rehearsal rooms, and a poured resin flooring in the back-of-house areas. These materials were chosen for their durability and functionality, as well as their aesthetic qualities.
Overall, the use of different flooring materials in the Philharmonic Concert Hall Szczecin is a testament to the attention to detail and careful consideration that went into the building’s design. It’s a great example of how even the smallest design elements can have a significant impact on the overall look and feel of a building.