UPFRONT
Auditoria IZZY KINGTON
loves... Zaha Hadid Architect’s design for Sverdlovsk
Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg, Russia
W ith its organic-looking curves
and volumes, the design
chosen in 2018 for Sverdlovsk
Philharmonic Concert Hall
in Yekaterinburg, Russia, is
recognizably the work of Zaha Hadid Architect.
Having won against 46 other proposals, the architect
will now work with a team including local architect
Speech, theater consultant Theatre Projects, and
acoustic engineering design consultant Marshall Day
to bring the design to fruition.
The building will provide an expanded home for
the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, currently playing
to full houses in an existing 1936 building, which
will be renovated. The new structure will sit between
the old building and the Weiner Gardens. “The new
building is not a mere extension of the existing facility
but instead, it is the connective tissue that will unite all
aspects of this important cultural center,” says Christos
Passas, project director at Zaha Hadid Architect.
The external design was inspired by sound waves,
the peaks encapsulating the two new auditoria – a
1,600-seat concert hall and a 400-seat chamber music
hall. “The form of the building reflects its content
and its functionality; its exterior skin becomes an
instrument of structure and integrates all the different
components of the Philharmonic,” says Passas.
The auditoria are suspended within the canopy
so that they appear to float above the lobby, which
is intended as a new community gathering place.
“The lobby is defined by the center’s most important
volumes: its two auditoria,” says Passas. “We have
designed the lobby to be a theatrical public space,
a space welcoming audiences to enjoy amazing
performances in world-class facilities, but also a place
to be used by everyone in the city at any time of day.”
Transparent glass is used to add to this feeling of
openness and merge the building with the Weiner
Gardens, which will also be renovated to include an
amphitheater for outdoor performances. n
4 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE