bjarke ingels' vltava philharmonic hall will be a stack of stepping terraces

bjarke ingels group to create public space in prague

The city of Prague announces Bjarke Ingels Group as winner of the international competition for the design of its Vltava Philharmonic Hall. The winning design of the contemporary theater will be built in the city’s Holešovice district, and will introduce exciting new public spaces including access to the Vltava river, outdoor terraces, and a rooftop accessible to all the public.

The city hopes to attract both fans of classical music along with the general public on the whole. The rooftop, with its stepping form, will take shape as a continuation of the public square — this allows pedestrians to access the terraces with their panoramic views across Prague without having to enter the building itself.

image by Bjarke Ingels Group

a philharmonic hall along the vltava river

The team at Bjarke Ingels Group (see more here) designs the Vltava Philharmonic Hall (see more here) to reference the larger context of the Czech Republic. The wood is to be sourced from the Šumava Forest which is located at the mouth of the Vltava River. Timber ceilings will permeate from the exterior to the interior, symbolizing building’s openness to its surroundings. Emphasis will also be placed on the implementation of glass, another element typical of the Czech Republic, which dominates the facade of the building.

The project will comprise three halls, the music department and the creative hub of the Municipal Library of Prague, and a rooftop restaurant and café.

image by Mozses

the new home to the city’s orchestras

The Bjarke Ingels Group-designed Vltava Philharmonic will be the new home of two orchestras — the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK and the Czech Philharmonic. Both orchestras will find adequate residential spaces here, but also facilities for expanding their educational programs for the public. Music schools of various levels will also be involved and will be able to use the Vltava Philharmonic Hall’s facilities for their teaching.

Representatives of the Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, as well as the Municipal Library in Prague, participated in the preparation of the architectural competition brief and were invited to jury the competition, thus being able to comment on the needs of individual entities.

image by Bjarke Ingels Group

The international jury’s decision for the winning design was announced together with the city’s Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague) during a gala evening at the Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP). The proposal was chosen among a total of 19 anonymous global entries, including invited proposals from Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Snøhetta, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield Architects, and SANAA.

The new Vltava Philharmonic Hall building will help kick-start the transformation of one of Prague’s most important brownfield sites. the new Bubny-Zátory district should be built in its place, which will eventually become home to 25,000 residents in 11,000 apartments. Construction is expected to start in 2027, and the new concert hall should be completed in 2032.

image by Mozses

project info:

project title: Vltava Philharmonic Hall

architecture: Bjarke Ingels Group / BIG

location: Prague, Czech Republic

lead architects: Bjarke Ingles, Brian Yang

completion: expected 2032

visualizations: Mozses, Bjarke Ingels Group

clients: Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague), the city of Prague

collaborators: AED PROJECT – Aleš Marek, Šárka Schneiderová; John Henley, Karel Košek, Tomáš Hrádek; NAGATA ACOUSTICS – Marc Quiquerez, Neza Kravanja; THEATRE PROJECTS – Findlay Ross, Mark Stroomer; BURO HAPPOLD – George Keliris, Kostis Lysikatos, Michael Keverne; SYSTEMATICA – Tiffanie Yamashita; FRONT – Marc Simmons, Jill Fredrickson