new images of herzog & de meuron's elbphilharmonie

tickets are now on sale for the inaugural season of the elbphilharmonie, the hamburg concert hall designed by herzog & de meuron. the venue is set to open in germany on january 11, 2017, with the handover of the scheme’s concert areas now successfully carried out. construction began in 2007, with the project taking almost a decade to be realized. interior furnishings and equipment can be installed and preparations for the final handover on october 31, 2016 can now begin. ‘we are finally on the home stretch,’ says christoph lieben-seutter, general and artistic director of the elbphilharmonie. ‘the overwhelming interest for our advanced ticket booking shows the high level of anticipation for the elbphilharmonie opening, not only in hamburg, but also further afield.’

an aerial view of the site in hamburg’s hafencity quarter
all images © maxim schulz

a new website has also been launched for the elbphilharmonie, offering a virtual tour of the much-anticipated herzog & de meuron-designed structure. in total, the complex houses three world-class concert halls, a hotel, 45 private apartments, and ‘the plaza’ — a public viewing area with a panoramic views of the city. located on the banks of the river elbe, the building is supported by approximately 1,700 reinforced concrete piles. the largest concert hall is a 2,100-seat arena positioned at a height of 50 meters and decoupled from the remainder of the complex for sound-proofing reasons.

the complex houses three concert halls, a hotel, and 45 private apartments

the scheme involves a bold addition positioned atop a previously existing warehouse building. the striking glazed façade comprises 1,100 individual panes, each measuring four to five meters wide and over three meters high. most glass panes were separately shaped with millimeter precision, then marked with small basalt grey reflective dots. this prevents the structure from overheating, while simultaneously creating a shimmering effect. the curvature of each pane depends on the particular area of the building. the elbphilharmonie will be inaugurated on 11 january 2017. however, ‘the plaza’ — a public viewing area positioned at the junction of old and new structures — will be accessible from november 2016.

a bold addition is positioned atop an existing warehouse building

internally, herzog & de meuron developed the specific surface structure of the walls and ceiling through extensive material research and numerous conceptual studies. the highly dense and extremely heavy engineered gypsum fiberboard panels reflect sound, which is then directed and scattered by the countless seashell-shaped milled depressions. ‘the dissemination of sound in a concert hall is decisive for the quality of acoustics,’ explains jacques herzog of herzog & de meuron. ‘in order to achieve this, the geometry of the room, the materials used and the surface structure must be perfectly in tune. it is this particular structure and the seamless transition between the walls and the ceiling that lend the concert hall its somewhat natural characteristics.’ see designboom’s previous coverage of the project here.

the striking glazed façade comprises 1,100 individual panes