House of Music II
House of Music II
2003/2008-2014
Location
Aalborg, Denmark
Client
North Jutland House of Music Foundation, Aalborg, Denmark
Tags
Concert Hall,Cultural,Educational,Mixed Use,Recent,Realized,Featured
Chronology
-
2003
Competition
1st prize -
2008
Start of Planning
-
2010
Start of Construction
-
2014
Completion
Project Description
Creativity Art Music

The House of Music was designed as part of a larger April 2008 master plan, also produced by Coop Himmelb(l)au. The concert hall defines the eastern edge of the Cultural Plaza, which is linked to the city center by a low-rise, mixed use courtyard building and a high-rise hotel tower, and which opens along the promenade down to the fjord. As a complement to the cultural and leisure functions of the Nordkraft building, a former power station that was recently renovated, the House of Music and the urban spaces of the master plan transform the area into a new center for art, music, and education in Aalborg.
The House of Music is organized around the concept of sharing and synergy, while recognizing the need for independence of the individual institutions within. Wherever possible sharing of spaces is enabled and overlapping of use of public and performance spaces is supported through the design.
The basic organization uses the Foyer to connect a centralized Concert Hall with a U-shaped bar of Educational functions placed over the backstage facilities in a courtyard scheme with the Concert Hall as its center. This typology is adopted to insure good natural light and maximized views within an economical and efficient system of circulation, and to establish close, central relations to the performance and public space of the House of Music. At the same time the separation of entrances and circulations allows all of the institutions to operate independently, while at the same time the location of common functions, such as food service, lounge and other common spaces in the Foyer, ensure opportunities for meetings and encounters between the various residents of the House of Music.
The House of Music in Aalborg unites cultural uses, pedagogical functions, and generous public areas in an open system that creates synergies and exchange between audiences, artists, students, and educators—a hybrid space for shared use. A 1,300-seat concert hall forms the core of a compact, U-shaped block with rooms for music education and practicing. Three additional halls of various sizes and functions round out the available performance spaces. On the north side, the building opens onto a vertical foyer with a view of the fjord. To the west, it adjoins the Cultural Plaza which links it to the city.
Data
- 17 637 m² Net Floor Area
- 20 257 m² Gross Floor Area
Team
Team
Planning:
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU Wolf D. Prix / W. Dreibholz & Partner ZT GmbH
Design Principal/ CEO: Wolf D. Prix
Senior Project Partner: Michael Volk
Project Architect: Marcelo Bernardi, Pete Rose
Jr. Project Architect: Benjamin Schmidt
Design Architect: Luzie Giencke
Design Architects – Interior: Eva Wolf, Ivana Jug, Ariane Marx
CAD Coordinator: Ronny Böser, Benjamin Schmidt
Project Team: Markus Baumann, Robin Heather, Anja Sorger, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Anna Wasserthal, Philip Wilck, Blaine Lepp, Talya Kozminsky, Hannes Walzl, Morten Grau Jensen, Stephanie Neufeld, Tyler Bornstein, Laura Githa, Julia Gärtner, Jenny Draxlbauer
Consultants:
Acoustics, Audio-Visual & Theatre Design and Planning Consultant: Arup, New York, USA
Local Architects: Friis & Moltke, Aalborg, Denmark
Landscape Architect: Jeppe Aagaard Andersen, Helsingør, Denmark
Structural Engineering: Rambøll, Aalborg, Denmark;
B+G Ingenieure, Bollinger und Grohmann GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany
Mechanical, Electrical and Fire Engineering: Nirás, Aalborg, Denmark
Cost consultant: Davis Langdon LLP, London, England
Lighting Design Consultant: Har Hollands, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interior Design Consultant: Eichinger Offices, Vienna, Austria