On January 11, the new auditorium of the ElbPhilharmonie was officially inaugurated with two great concerts. An impressive building designed, as stated by its designers, as a fanciful “union and meeting” point.
Born from a project by the Herzog & de Meuron studio, the new ElbPhilharmonie is where the sea meets the land and Hamburg (so as to stress its bond with them), rising impressively with its 110 meters of height on the skyline of the harbour.
A building made unique for its profile with high waves on the roof, which make it one of the most famous auditoriums in the world, besides the New York Metropolitan and the Sidney Opera House.
The impressive building, connecting sea with city's hinterland, celebrates the contrast between the sea and the city in its own structure, strongly characterized by the contrast created by an old and “important” red brick base (dating back to a Port warehouse of the sixties), and the shining upper white structure. The result is a largely glazed structure that appears to the observer almost “moved” by the constant reflection of light and reflecting the port and the city, by one side, and the sea by the other.
Moreover, the glass reflects the sky that in Hamburg, as known, does not respect any forecast; if it is raining in the east and the sun is shining in the west, the ElbPhilharmonie shows them both.
It includes three concert halls, a hotel, public spaces and private apartments. The hub is the Plaza, a square open to everyone and located at 37 meters, where you can enjoy a 360° spectacular view.
The surprising design of the main concert hall (2,150 seats) of the Auditorium specially stresses the inspirational idea of the project: “the desire for union and meeting”. The large hall – which appears inspired by those geological sites looking somewhat “lunar and characterized by landslides caused by rain and winds – gathers everybody around the orchestra. There is no more separation with the public, nor any privileged places. Everyone is distributed in a semicircle area and, as casually collected in a rocky area, cling to each other around the orchestra.
Everybody listens with the same sound quality: the 10,000 grey sandy plasterboard panels, entirely covering the hall, are all different because the recesses in the walls must have different shapes to provide a highly uniform diffusion of the sound, so that the music literally envelops the spectators.
DURAVIT for the Elbphilharmonie
In the bathrooms of the Elbphilharmonie, you can find Scola washbasin, one of the most successful classic products of Duravit range, combining classic design and modern features. Its circular and deep inner basin is famous as the first violin. Duravit's Sundeck Minipool performs a solo in the Westin Hotel's wellness department of the Elbphilharmonie, offering a pleasant relax before or after the concerts.
