One of the most controversial stories in architecture so far this year has to be that of Jean Nouvel, who boycotted the opening of his Philharmonie in Paris. The French architect complained that it had opened its doors — as (much-belatedly) scheduled in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo incident — despite remaining unfinished and “non-compliant” with his original design, declaring the building “an architectural structure that waivers between fakery and sabotage.”
If Nouvel’s outburst came across as a bit overblown, this only served as a reminder of the significance of major civic buildings as landmarks within the urban environment and the importance of getting them right — for both the architects who design them and the public who will come to enjoy them. When it comes to concert halls, their inherent emotive power means the stakes are high: These are cathedrals of music and the performing arts and, when designed well, can act as an inspiring cultural beacon for an entire region.
Here, we explore seven of the best new theaters for music, accompanied by notes of majestic modernism that live up to the timeless performances occurring within.
Oriental Art Center by Paul Andreu
Located on the Century Avenue in Shanghai, China, the Oriental Art Center spans seven stories and includes a philharmonic concert hall of 1,979 seats, a lyric theater, and a chamber music hall — not to mention the arts library, a multimedia, training center, restaurant, music shops, and exhibition hall.
These multiple functions are united under a huge cantilevered roof that covers a cluster of curved pods. The glazing of each pod gradually transitions from opaque to transparent panels at its base, allowing light to emanate out and creating an illuminated landmark by night.
PALOMA Concert Hall by Tetrarc Architectes
This concert hall in Nîmes, France, is dedicated to contemporary music, incorporating two performance spaces, 12 rehearsal and recording studios, six accommodation units for artists-in-residence, and a plethora of technical facilities.
Tetrarc conceived the building as a contorted shell comprised of zinc and glass, which is lifted, folded, and pulled apart to display a huge screen upon which the performances are promoted. Internally, the performance spaces are packed with metaphorical references to drama, using the colors of the bullfight (yellow, purple, and red) to represent the concert as “a confrontation between artists and the public.”
Carnal Hall at Le Rosey by Bernard Tschumi Architects
Tschumi used an eclectic material palette of metal, concrete, and recycled OSB compressed wood to create this striking domed concert hall in Rolle, Switzerland. Designed as a contrast to the traditional buildings of the renowned Le Rosey boarding school, the sculptural form intends to “infuse the campus with a contemporary architectural image.”
With a tight budget and strict requirements pertaining to sustainability, the oriented strand board was utilized inside the hall for both cladding and structural elements and was left exposed to create an expressionist interior with excellent acoustic properties.
Concert Hall / Konzerthaus Blaibach by Peter Haimerl Architecktur and Bergbauer Licht GmbH
This concert hall in Bavaria, Germany, is something of an architectural iceberg: in order not to overwhelm the quaint village square, Haimerl buried the majority of the arena beneath the surface, with just a tilted granite block (which contains the upper rows of seats) sitting above grade.
Stairs beneath this sculptural form lead to the auditorium, which pleated walls of concrete that are ideal for enhancing the acoustics of the music being played on stage. Gaps between the pleats hold ambient lighting. Steel mesh seats complete the minimalist aesthetic.
Harpa – Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center by Batteriid Architects and Henning Larsen Architects
The shimmering façades of Iceland’s foremost concert hall are inspired by the northern lights and the dramatic scenery of Icelandic landscape. The architects worked in collaboration with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson to produce the crystalline glass walls, which reflect and refract the changing light in different ways throughout the day.
The halls are envisaged as “mountain-like massifs,” an extension of the basalt rock formations in the region. At the halls' heart, a crimson amphitheater is described by the architects as a “red-hot center of force.”
Bing Concert Hall by Ennead Architects
A significant new building for Stanford University in California, Ennead designed the curved complex as “a seamless integration of architecture, acoustics, and technology.” The tapered concrete structure is precisely shaped to achieve the optimum acoustic conditions for performances within.
At ground level, continuous glass walls open the lobby up to exterior colonnades, forming a “contemporary expression of a traditional Stanford typology.” Inside the hall, materials were specifically chosen for their acoustic properties, with soaring timber walls and yellow Alaskan cedar used for the stage.
Limoges Concert Hall by Bernard Tschumi Architects
Tschumi’s futuristic concert hall sits like an alien spacecraft stationed in a forest clearing on the outskirts of Limoges, in central France. Its standout feature is a curving, translucent polycarbonate skin, which contains the circulation space around the outside of an intimate timber-clad theater.
The layout of the music hall itself has been designed for flexibility; it can be configured for an audience as small as 600 or a huge capacity of up to 8,000. Outside, parking for 1,500 cars is hidden beneath a landscape of grass lawns and trees and large illuminated balloons form sculptural lighting and way-finding elements leading to the glowing arena itself.