Beacon of Light and Culture

When I was first introduced to this building I couldn’t help but be intrigued, inspired and excited. Located on the site of Konzerthaus which was destroyed during World War 2 the Szczecin Philharmonic Hall through it’s values, use and profile is a actualisation of the culture, history, architecture and innovation of Poland.
The architects, Barozzi Veiga have resolved the complex pragmatic arrangement with a continuous and dynamic sculptural form balancing volume and verticality while referencing the industrial and Neo-Gothic architecture of the surrounds. The diaphanous cladding provides the structure with a dual identity; by day a monumental promenade and by night transformed into a light beacon, blurring the definition of a building for and of performance. The refined simplicity of the materials and detailing allow the hall to become a canvas, open for interpretation and projection.

With an external form so striking it is easy to overlook the interiors but as a self confessed lover of mathematics and ratios and their presence in nature and music, I love the role the Fibonacci sequence plays in the design and proportions of the hall which true to central European tradition of decoration uses the gold-leaf gilded shards for ornament and acoustic function.

Beautiful and inspiring like music, culture and innovation, the Szczecin Philharmonic Hall is what design should aspire to.

1st image by Hufton + Crow all other images by Photographer Simon Menges