| Client | CO-AUTHORS: HENNING LARSEN & CMCARCHITECTS, Magistrát HMP, ČR |
|---|---|
| Location | Prague, CZ |
| Scale | 72000 m2 |
Smetana’s Vltava, a powerful and beautiful instrumental composition, has, in the years since its debut in 1882, become a kind of anthem for Prague — or indeed, the entire Czech Republic. The composition is not an an-them in a patriotic sense. The Vltava, from its opening chords, is a piece of music that is about and of its place.
Like Smetana’s Vltava, the new Prague Vltava Philharmonic will be the perfect ‚instrument‘ - an expression of this place - realised in a new artistic form (language). Its cresting spires play in harmony with the towers, turrets, steeples and spires that grace the tapestry of the city’s roofscape.
The bounding arcade that stretches along the Vltava waterfront suggests a musical cadence found in the structure of the bridges that stitch the city’s two sides together. The Prague Vltava Philharmonic is located at one of these stitch points, just North of Old Town and across the river from the vibrant Karlin district. Located on the Holesovice peninsula, the site itself is nearly and is-land: framed by two famous bridges, bordered by tram-lines, and anchored by both metro and train stations.
This interior plaza serves as both foyer to the concert halls and a performance/gathering space itself. The new Philharmonic Hall draws it’s tactility and materiality from the warmth and resonance of the violin, us-ing mass timber structures wrapping around the large concrete music halls, with a wooden mega-grid carry-ing the expressive hyper-roof. This grid allows light to pour into the space from above on all sides, bathing the entire Square of Sound in light during the day and dramatically glowing from within in the evenings.
At the ground level of the new Philharmonic Hall, over-all geometry is light and simple - flowing curves in the landscape surround the building, transitioning into arched facades, with soft concave pockets that invite people inside, from every direction, every edge, every surrounding space. Up above, with the new silhouette in the skyline, the drama begins - hyperbolic peaks and spires of the hyper-roof add personality and panache, giving the building a rhythmic movement.
This requires not just a specific formal approach, but an eye to the Philharmonic’s sustainable future. Our proposal reaches not just the ambitious sustainability targets of today, but looks forward as well, merging timber construction with traditional methods to craft a hybrid structure that is beautiful, lasting, sustainable, and sound — the perfect ‚instrument‘. The new Philharmonic Hall divests from fossil fuels, lessening its impact on the earth and leaving an iconic, intelligent place of music and memory for generations to come.
One-hundred and forty years after it was first played, despite all the changes of the years that followed, Smetana’s Vltava still captures something essential about its place. Our ultimate goal for the Philharmonic Hall is a timeless human inspiration, with lasting meaning and cultural resonance.