HERZOG AND DE MEURON

The Elbphilharmonie - Herzog & de Meuron

LOCATION
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, a long awaited project that began in 2007,
is slated for completion a decade later on January 11, 2017

KAISPECHER
The multi-use structure is built on the site of the Kaiserspeicher, an 1875
neo-gothic warehouse that stood for years as the city’s most famous
landmark. Almost completely destroyed in the Second World War, it was re-
imagined in 1966 as the red brick Kaispeicher A, storing cocoa, tea and
tobacco. Now the centrepiece of the HafenCity district, one of Europe’s
most ambitious development areas, the building has been reborn for the
third time as a facility containing not just three concert halls, but a hotel,
apartments and public plaza.
Kaispecher itself now contains a car park, spa facilities, restaurants,
conference rooms and a 170-seat auditorium. Above that, hovering above a
4,000 sq m plaza with views around the city through vault-shaped openings,
is the addition, accessible via an arched, 82m-long escalator.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

THE PLAZA
Sandwiched between the warehouse and the new glass
structure is a 4000 square metre plaza that pronounces the
floating effect of the glass hall above. The plaza is as large as
the Hamburg Town Hall Square. It opens to scenic views of the
city, the river and the harbour.

THE OUTER PLAZA

Two large arches have been hollowed out of the
Elbphilharmonie's glass facade: one very high arch on the side
that faces the city, and a slightly smaller one on the harbour
part. Visitors have access to the Plaza's outer walkway through
large s-shaped glass elements.

THE TUBE
From the main entrance of the Elbphilharmonie, an 82-metre-
long, curved escalator, the so-called Tube, with elaborate
lighting leads visitors up through the old Kaispeicher building.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

GLASS FAÇADE
The defining feature of the Elbphilharmonie is the
glass façade which has 1100 curved glass panels
each 4 to 5 metre in width, each with a pattern of
individually printed chrome points, reflecting the
water and sky, giving it a crystal like appearance.
The glass façade is built with silkcreen-printed
panels with a mirror finish and opens up at specific
points to favour natural ventilation and generates
terrace with a U-profile.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.
THE CONCERT HALL
The auditorium within has been built according to the
vineyard concept, with the stage in the centre and the
seating ascending in terraces around it. A characteristic
feature of the auditorium within is a tent like colossal
sound reflector that distributes sound equally
throughout.
The structure holds three concert halls, including a
main auditorium that houses 2,150-seats, 45 residential
flats and a hotel, aiming to become a vertical city.
THE REFLECTOR
Suspended in the middle of the vaulted ceiling of the
Grand Hall, the reflector throw backs sound from the
stage into every corner of the hall, while at the same
time houses parts of the lighting technology and stage
mechanics as well as the echo division of the organ.
THE WHITE SKIN
The white skin that covers the surface and walls is
composed of 10,000 meticulously constructed gypsum
fibre panels. By reflecting sound into every corner of
the Grand Hall, these panels ensure a perfect acoustic.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

THE CONCERT HALL
Detached from the rest of the building for
soundproofing reasons, the 10,000 panels that
line the central auditorium are the result of
parametric design, a process of creating
multiple individual designs using algorithms.
A million individual cells ranging from four to
16cm long are cut out from the panels, which
balance the sound and reverberation across
the auditorium.
Deeper and wider cells are needed at the back
of the hall, while smaller and shallower holes
are located on the ceiling.
A similar technique has been used in the
Neoclassical Wiener Musikverein venue, home
of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
The ivory coloured gypsum fiber acoustic
panels contain a seashell motif and were
designed by Swiss architect Herzog & De
Meuron with help from German studio One to
One.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.
THE ROOF
Eight large, curved surfaces are responsible for the elegant, rolling rooftop
of the Elbphilharmonie. Mounted directly onto the roof are 6,000
glittering panels that create the striking reflection of light.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.
RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.
By reason of the Home
collection’s presentation,
the proportion and
dimensions of interior
spaces were domestic scale.
They intended to make
showrooms look like their
home settings. Individual
houses have different
characteristics in displaying.
There are 12 individual
houses and they stacked
them up to 5 storeys. Floor
slab intersects the
underlying gables and
creates a three dimensional
assemblage. It looks
disorganized but exteriors
were charcoal coloured wall
so it unifies the chaotic
structure

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

 At the ground floor, a wooden plank floor defines an open area
around five buildings. We can look through this building by
taking the lift. It takes us up to fourth floor. When we arrive
there, the interior space looks complex because of an angular
intersection of the individual houses and integration of a second
geometrical concept. However, all of the staircases join wide
ranging volumes. It sometimes seems great in visual but it also
sometimes blocks our views. Therefore, the interior walls are all
white. It’s for both lessen the blocking and give priority to the
furniture displays

Architects designed this building to be a vertically oriented

structure. The directional orientation of the houses looks
arbitrary but it depends on the views of surrounding landscape.
The exterior is shaped by orthogonal-polygonal but interior
shows us a series of spatial surprises, they call it ‘a secret
world’

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.

RESHMA R.B. SOWMYA PREETI.S NIVEDITHA K.