Student Work
1∕7
Title
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Hall
Project Description
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Hall is a proposal for a premier symphonic music venue in Munich, Germany. This hall adopts a contemporary “vineyard style” arrangement, relying on a series of terraced walls which step up and away from the orchestra pit. In the tradition of the grand “shoebox style” halls of Boston and Amsterdam, the geometry of the new symphonic hall is orthogonal. However, variations to the orthogonal system—fractured geometries and non-parallel surfaces provide opportunities for immediate sound reflections, ideal sight lines and a performance in the round. Plateaus at the corners of each of the seating blocks provide opportunities for off-stage performers to break out of the conventional symphony orchestra arrangement, encouraging composers to think creatively about how they both compose and conduct in the space. Finally, light wells at the corners of the room produce a flood of natural daylight and signal the primary entries and vertical circulation paths. The experience of the hall is one of ascension into light and then decent into darkness. A dramatic experience meant to parallel the dynamics inherent in the structure of symphonic music itself.