Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany, Europe

Completed · Cultural · Concert Hall · Temperate · 2017

A concert hall placed atop a repurposed warehouse on a harbour peninsula, with its main auditorium entirely suspended on 362 steel springs for vibration isolation from the building structure. The parametrically designed interior surface of 10,000 individually shaped gypsum-fibre panels controls acoustic reflection with a precision not previously achieved at this scale.

Innovation highlights

  • entire 2,100-seat auditorium box suspended on 362 steel spring isolators
  • 10,000 unique parametrically designed gypsum-fibre acoustic panels lining the hall
  • each panel individually CNC-milled to control sound diffusion at specific frequencies
  • adaptive reuse of a 1960s warehouse as the building's podium
  • vineyard-style seating wraps 360 degrees around conductor with no seat beyond 30m
Client / Developer
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Architect
Herzog & de Meuron
Engineer
Arup (acoustics: Yasuhisa Toyota / Nagata Acoustics)
Type
Concert Hall

#acoustics #parametric design #CNC fabrication #vibration isolation #adaptive reuse #concert hall

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