Zaha Hadid’s design for the Beethoven Festspielhaus in Bonn
Beethoven Festspielhaus proposal design by Zaha Hadid Architects in Bonn, This UK architectural firm has submitted a design of sinuous translucence. Expanding like a mouth, the structure’s Rhine-side glazed facade reveals the grand staircase that leads concertgoers upwards to the main concert hall.The curvilinear shell opens and closes, creating an ongoing dialogue between interior and exterior.The volume’s form accentuates the continuity between river and city with folds and creases underlining the rise from riverfront to the urban level. The result, write the architects, is “a sense of flow, continuity, lightness and movement.”
The building, made of concrete and glazed panels with an inset cable net structure, allows for daylight to fill the volume’s interior. The creases provide viewing platforms and open performance spaces, both inside and out, with outdoor event space provided by the grand staircases leading from the Rhine to the elevated building mass.
The main entry is situated below the building’s dramatic cantilever, which is accessible from a grand architectural promenade connecting the new Festspielhaus with the city and the existing Beethovenhalle. Access to the main foyer is provided on two levels, its upper-level access still accessible during high-water conditions.The main concert hall, with its underlying shoebox form, is designed in the same spirit of fluidity demonstrated in the exterior design, with curvilinear balcony fronts and flowing wall reliefs.
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