Concert Hall in Warsaw Ysgol Gerdd

Press Kit

Unique Properties

At a time when building new architecture has never been easier than today, special attention should be paid to the desire to use the existing urban fabric. With the principles of sustainable development, the new music school in Warsaw has adapted the decaying buildings by giving them a new function. By extending them, it increased the quality and functionality of the entire complex. Thanks to the unique concert hall, the new object will become an important place on the cultural map of Warsaw.

Dimensions & Packaging

Usable floor area: 10 138 m2
Total area: 12 942 m2
Area of the plot: 8 454 m2
Building area: 3 341 m2

Tags

Architecture, education, school, music, city, heritage, concert hall, wood, concrete, design, interior, round, circular, innovation, Poland, koniorstudio

Production Technology

The main materials in the design are concrete, steel and wood. A unique solution is the round plan of the concert hall with a diameter of 24 m. The internal reinforced concrete walls are made of rubber formwork in a specially designed and tested shape. The ash sails and the ceiling are the most important acoustically surfaces obtained from individually milled and joined wooden blocks. The whole structure is suspended by steel brackets mounted to reinforced concrete walls.

Design Challenge

The acoustic qualities developed with Nagata Acoustics, as well as the form and proportions of the interior makes it comparable to the best concert halls in the world. Wooden, ash sails and a ceiling hanging over the stage and the audience gave it a characteristic and memorable architectural

Research

The heart of the complex in this building is the concert hall. Its unusual circular plan comes from the desire to integrate around the music. The area divided in half between audience and the stage, allowed to create a comfortable place for 70 musicians and 300 music lovers. The last row is only 8 meters from the stage, which gives the impression of an intimate space to a young artist. The amphitheater arch of the audience surrounds the performers, giving a sense of community.

Inspiration

The architectural competition for the music school did not include the historic building of the former orphanage. It fills almost the entire front elevation from Rakowiecka Street, hence the decision was to locate the new building with a concert hall deep within the plot. The existing context inspired us to create a background architecture with the continuation of the, scale and rhythms of the existing building, while inside a world full of acoustic details subordinated to music and silence

Project Duration

The project started in 2015, construction started in 2017 and finished in October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.

Operation Flow

The primary design decision was to define the entrance zone. The fence was reduced in order to establish a stronger relationship with the city by creating a new public space in front of the school. In the place of the former bunker, a safe square was designed. By penetrating the foundation walls, a spacious entrance to the atrium under the body of the historic building was formed. The internal, multifunctional foyer, lit by a daylight, is the keystone of the old and the new.

Patents

Konior Studio

Image Credits

Image #1: Photographer Bartek Barczyk, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020
Image #2: Photographer Bartek Barczyk, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020
Image #3: Photographer Bartek Barczyk, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020
Image #4: Photographer Piotr Krajewski, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020
Image #5: Photographer Piotr Krajewski, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020