Building site for the new Festspielhaus on the Rhine river.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s work as a composer has left a deep and lasting mark on the world. He is considered the most famous composer of all time – a cultural treasure for Germany and the world. In 2020 the planet will celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday, and in 2027 the 200th anniversary of his death. On both occasions, the world’s eyes will be on Beethoven and his musical legacy. Germany will be the epicenter of the anniversary celebrations reverberating out into the world.

To anchor these momentous anniversary celebrations and help honor and celebrate Beethoven’s musical legacy into the distant future, a new world-class concert hall, a Festspielhaus, will be built on the banks of Beethoven’s beloved Rhine River in his hometown Bonn. In keeping with Beethoven’s status as a national cultural treasure, the privately-funded project is drawing on support from businesses, private citizens and institutions across Germany.

Privately financed concert hall

Deutsche Post DHL has earmarked 30 million euros to fund construction of the Festspielhaus and, following an earlier tender process for a different location, has initiated a second design selection process. More than 50 architecture firms applied to take part in the and after a preliminary selection process, ten internationally renowned firms were invited to take part. The design proposals submitted by these ten firms can be seen on these pages. A selection committee comprised of representatives from the private sector, public sector and the arts, patrons, and international architectural and acoustic experts then selected three designs for further development. The selected designs are those from David Chipperfield, London, Kadawittfeld, Aachen, and François Valentiny, Luxembourg. The goal is to complete the concert hall and open its doors to the public by 2019, one year before Beethoven’s 250th birthday.

Plans for the construction of a new Beethoven Festspielhaus in Bonn are not starting at “square one”. It has long-since been clear that private funding was and is the only way to make the realization of the project possible. This approach, along with the detailed planning, will ensure stability both in terms of timing and financing.

As construction planning progresses, fundraising is ongoing for both the construction of the concert hall and for the Festspielhaus foundation, which will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the concert hall into the future. In addition to Deutsche Post DHL, businesses from across the region and citizen initiatives in Bonn, including the Förderer-Beethoven-Festspielhaus-Bonn eG and the Beethoven Festspielhaus Förderverein e.V., have already raised several million euros in additional funding. Artists from around the world are campaigning on behalf of the Beethoven Festspielhaus project.

The federal and state governments have also recognized the significance of the Festspielhaus project, and the tremendous opportunity it represents, and pledged their financial support for the Festspielhaus foundation. The federal government alone pledged 39 million euros in funding, and underscored its commitment to Beethoven’s cultural legacy in the government’s coalition agreement.

The new Festspielhaus will not only bring Beethoven’s music to life, it will serve as an international “house of music” that brings together diverse genres – from classical to crossover to pop – and attracts music lover of all ages.

Timeline

2014

October 29 – November 16: Post Tower exhibit of the designs submitted to the architectural design competition (open to the public) 
November/December: Detailed development of the selected designs

2015

Q1: Market-based cost estimates 
Followed by: Investor decision for one of the models possible 

2016 and onward

QII 2016: Planned start of construction 
QII 2019: Planned completion

Selected designs

Design selection process

Chipperfield
Graceful crystalline architecture on stilts

The British architect has proposed a four-story assemblage of cuboidal structures of spun concrete. The two lower structures, with entries to the main concert hall, act as a bridge between the Rhine promenade and the green spaces of the Beethovenhalle. Topping these two base structures are topped are two more, creating a layered landscape of rooftop terraces − a place for ambling, enjoying the view or taking in a performance in the outdoor performance space. The lower and upper elements connect to form two colossal portals that flank the structure on either side. Assembled at various depths, the four segments combine to create a whole of architectural virtuosity. The entirely glass-fronted structure encased in a façade of slender poles is an articulation of crystalline architectonic unity. The concert hall, housed in the center of the two lower levels, has walls of grained walnut veneer.

Chipperfield’s design is informed by the location’s past − from its military function as a medieval town-wall to its role today as a venue for cultural and festival events. The architect writes, “For the first time in its history, architecture will be allowing the site to celebrate and enjoy its extraordinary strategic significance.” From the 13th-century Neuer Turm bulwark to the soaring crystalline Festspielhaus today.

Concert hall:1,500 / 800 seats
Form:Shoebox
Material - Supporting structure/façade:White spun concrete supports and glass elements
Material - Foyer:Exposed concrete or masonry
Material - Concert hall:Grained walnut veneer

kadawittfeldarchitektur
Harmony between new hall and surroundings

Working with the elevation difference between the Rhine River and the Beethovenhalle campus above, the Aachen-based architects designed a volume that rises in curvilinear bands to create − as stated in the architects’ mission statement, “harmony between new hall and its surroundings”. The interior inverts the upward movement of the façade by burrowing the vineyard-form concert hall amphitheater-style into the belly of the complex. Echoes of the substratum layers carry over into the outside area in the form of stairs leading down to the riverfront.

Together with its landscape design, the new hall, want of corners and angles, is cast in ripples and curves as a re-iteration of Wolske and Raderschall’s Beethovenhalle campus with its sloping dome and green area. A riverfront plaza will connect the new and old buildings. The height of the new complex does not exceed that of the old Beethoven concert hall.

Visitors access the foyer, a glazed interstice that wraps around the entire concert hall, at ground level from Sandkaule street. From there, concertgoers can enter the music hall between the orchestra tiers and the “sound box” (with balconies) above, amble around the perimeter and enjoy the riverfront view.

Concert hall:1,500 / 800 seats
Form:Vineyard
Material - Building structure:Reinforced concrete and steel trusses
Material - Facade:Natural stone (blue stone/granite/limestone/sandstone/terrazzo)
Material - Concert hall:Concrete (exterior), dark wood (interior)

Valentiny hvp architects
Duet of waves, big and small

The Luxemburg-based architects have cast a voluminous wave-shaped structure that opens up to both the riverfront and the city side through vaulting glass fronts. The building’s two main arcs, one much larger than the other, share a roof of overlapping bands of waves that stretch all the way to the ground in a gesture of openness on Beethovenhalle-facing side. A generously proportioned staircase leads visitors from the Rhine to one of the two entries. The second access is through the small wave on the city side. The plans call to keep the bunker located on the plot.

The round, cresting forms are carried over into the interior spaces. “A building for Beethoven should not be angular and closed. Instead, its climactic statements should come in a welcoming gestus of soft, dramaturgic movements,” writes the architect. The expansive outside areas in front of the glass facade can be used as an event space or as a platform from which to enjoy the riverfront view. Skylights set between the roof’s scale-like bands allow natural light to filter into the upper tiers of the structure. The concert hall, a mix between the traditional “Shoebox” and “Vineyard” forms, has the orchestra pit shifted further into the room. The ceiling can be lowered for smaller audiences (800 seats).

Concert hall:1,500 / 800 seats
Form:Shoebox/Vineyard
Material - Building structure:Light-colored concrete or bronze, glass
Material - Concert hall:Concrete, plaster (exterior), light-colored wood (interior)

> via beethoven-festspielhaus.de