Music anchors here. Can you hear it? Vltava Philharmonic Hall

Over the last 100 years, musical culture in Prague has given rise to several symphony orchestras – however, none of the historic halls in which they currently perform in Prague, in terms of space, technology or acoustics, are suitable for the ambitions of these musical formations, or for those of the guest orchestras. For many decades, a type of public building has been sought that would fulfill the potential of the Vltavská locality as part of the wider center of Prague and that could also become one of the dominant features of the city.

In 2017, a location on the edge of the Holešovice-Bubny area, which is currently one of the most important brownfield sites in Prague, was recommended for the new music center. The ambition of the modern concert hall under construction, called the Vltava Philharmonic Hall, is to become a new cultural center of gravity with which the city can identify and whose lively and open spaces will be available to Prague residents and visitors from the wider area and around the world. The concert hall will respect our rich musical tradition and continue to develop it – a Vltava Philharmonic Hall by the arterial road near the Vltava riverbank will connect the more traditional cultural scene of the Old Town with the modern art scene in Holešovice.

The international architectural competition for the design of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall was announced by the City of Prague together with the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague) at the end of August 2021. A total of 115 teams from 25 countries entered the competition together with 5 renowned architectural studios that were invited to participate in advance. In November 2021, the international jury announced the 20 finalists, from which the winner emerged in May 2022.

The location of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall along the river is a natural link to the historical location of other important Prague landmarks along the Vltava, such as the National Theater or the Rudolfinum. However, the winning design of the Vltava Philharmonic project does not only work with the building as such, but also brings imaginative solutions for public space in the Vltavská area. The music center, which will rise along the eastern boundary of the selected plot, will allow unique views of the river and Prague Castle, as well as the Old Town. In addition to opening up the riverbank and creating a new square and park around the Philharmonic Hall, the building itself will also offer a 'symphony' of colonnades and balconies that will serve as platforms for public life. It will pulsate from the river to the roof, from the inside out and from the outside in. The Vltava Philharmonic Hall will be accessible from all directions and levels, the building has no rear side but consists of four front facades. The carefully chosen features of the building attract visitors from all sides while ensuring an even distribution of activities. To the east of the building will be a new urban park, the south side will open up access to the water, on the west there will be a square and to the north there will be a view of the new Bubny-Zátory district.

In the case of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall, the roof will be a continuation of the public space of the square – the undulating stepped form will allow visitors to climb to the top. Within the individual balconies, a new place for sitting, relaxing and meeting will be created, which will provide a panoramic view of Prague or possible activities taking place on the square next to the building.

From the roof space, it will also be possible to look into the Philharmonic Hall building, which will be open and welcoming. The highest peaks of the building reach 38 meters, which is 20 meters lower than the height of the towers of St. Antonín on the nearby Strossmayer Square. The Philharmonic Hall will not disturb the Prague skyline.

The winning team is the architectural studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with offices in Copenhagen, London, New York, Barcelona and Shenzhen, employing more than 600 professionals in the field of architecture, design, engineering and theorists dealing with architecture, urban planning, research and building development. Many of the designs by BIG, which was founded in Copenhagen in 2005 under the direction of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, are unique in their use of pioneering technologies and often stand out for their defiance of traditional conventions and dimensions, as in the case of Amager Bakke, a state-of-the-art waste incinerator in Copenhagen that doubles as a ski slope, the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark, which resembles the bricks of the famous building set, or SFC Oceanix City, a man-made floating MIT ocean research center.

The studio's founder, Bjarke Ingels, emphasizes the sustainability of the buildings he designs, while basing his designs on extensive research. At the beginning of the process, he always carefully analyses many criteria, such as local culture and climate, the ever-changing patterns of modern lifestyles and the state of the global economy. TIME magazine ranked Bjarke Ingels among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. The Bjarke Ingels Group is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the German Sustainability Award, the Red Dot Award in the Architecture and Urban Design category, the Crown Prince of Denmark Culture Prize, and is a multiple finalist for the Miese van der Rohe Award.

The Vltava Philharmonic Hall will serve as a modern cultural center. In addition to three concert halls with high quality acoustic conditions, visitors will find spaces for music education and practice, including the music department of the Municipal Library of Prague and the Creative Hub established by it. There is also a multifunctional space for rehearsals, recording and broadcasting, a rooftop restaurant and outdoor and indoor relaxation areas. The building will house two orchestras – the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. Both groups will find appropriate residential spaces here. The functions of the building were carefully chosen so that the Vltava Philharmonic Hall would live day and night and attract not only classical music lovers but also a wide range of citizens.

The surroundings of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall will also make it possible to hold concerts and other events, and the building itself will be a social and community center where people will be able to meet, socialize, and have fun, not only inside, but also on the roof and in the vicinity. The Vltava Philharmonic Hall is designed to allow barrier-free access to all areas for people with any disability.

The authors of the design turn to Šumava, to the sources of the Vltava River – this is where the wood that will be used in the construction of the building should come from. The wooden ceilings will permeate from the exterior to the interior, symbolically highlighting the theme of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall'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 core of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall will be a 1,800-seat concert hall. Similarly to the main hall, the two side halls, a small one with 700 seats and an intimate black box configuration for up to 500 people, will have world-class technical equipment. Lighting, stage technology, as well as the visual and communication equipment of the halls will be fully compatible with all other parts of the complex.

The authors paid great attention to the issue of acoustics and vibrations. To ensure adequate undisturbed sound in acoustically sensitive areas, the halls are enclosed in two concrete shells that are structurally separated. This approach ensures acoustic separation from other parts of the building. In the halls, the clarity of sound is ensured not only by appropriately chosen materials but also by the relatively small distance of the audience from the stage. The layout of the auditorium in the shape of a vineyard allows the audience in the main hall to experience visual and acoustic intimacy thanks to the spacious seating and various balcony levels.

The stage floor in the small hall will have an elevated surface. Part of it will be demountable to facilitate format changes and encourage experimental art forms. The seats in the intimate hall can also be arranged in different formats and the space can be divided into two halves thanks to a demountable wall.

Today Vltavská is a busy, disorganized and very complicated place. We could hardly look for a more difficult task to solve in the competition. The area around the Holešovice railway station in the north and the southern Vltavská locality are the only two places that form a connection between upper and lower Holešovice. For several generations this area has been seen as a potential part of the wider center of Prague. For many years, a type of public building has been sought that would fulfill its potential and become one of the city's landmarks. The Vltava Philharmonic building with its strong public significance, architectural quality and fundamental social importance, together with the design of the surrounding public space, will help to restore the dignity of the area.

There are several height levels in the Vltavská area, which do not work sufficiently effectively neither as a whole nor among each other. In their current form, they are more like barriers. Thanks to the design of the Danish studio BIG, the site will create a multi-level harmonious public space that will connect the waterfront and all other urban levels, offer inviting views of the city and integrate all traffic arteries. To maximize public use space, the Philharmonic Hall building is located along the eastern side of the site and respects existing and potential pedestrian street lines. Similarly, the location of the building works with four different elements of public space – the street, the square, the park and the river.

The main challenge for architects when designing the public space in the Vltavská area was to seamlessly connect the Philharmonic Hall building with the existing and future urban structure. The Vltava river and its movement through nature and the city also became an inspiration. Thanks to this contemplation, the design works with the smooth movement of visitors without collisions and conflicts. The peaks of the Philharmonic Hall's walking roof act as signposts and encourage diagonal movement across the square. The undulating stepped form allows visitors to climb to the top as if it were a hill. The roof is a meeting place, providing panoramic views of Prague and a glimpse into the Philharmonic Hall's concert halls. The continuous connection between the river, the waterfront, the street, the park, the square and the roof works with the blending of surfaces corresponding to their functions. The very tip of the future central Bubny park connects to the ecological corridor on the waterfront, flanked by the arches of the railway bridge and the adjacent skate park area.

The location is already very well served by public transport. The extension and accessibility of the public space on Vltavská will offer a notional outdoor transfer platform between the metro, tram, bus, taxi, bicycle, ferry or train going directly to the airport. The existing tram line and the exit from the metro will be shifted north, i.e. closer to the newly planned train station. A fundamental change is the modification of the functioning of car traffic between the Negrelli Viaduct and Hlávka’s Bridge. The main traffic artery on the Bubenské Embankment and the exit from Hlávka’s Bridge are newly located below ground level and are not in contact with the pedestrian zone – the public space and the Vltava Philharmonic Hall building overlap this traffic artery and pedestrians the river, the embankment, directly. The waterfront promenade will be easily accessible and fully connected to the Vltava Philharmonic Hall's architectural parterre and will play a very important role for pedestrian and cycling traffic.