MAD has revealed new details and images from the construction of China Philharmonic Concert Hall, which is nearing completion in Beijing, China.

MAD won a design competition to design a philharmonic concert hall in 2014. Encompassing a total of 11,600-square-metre area at site, the building covers a 26,000-square-metre area. 

The building is wrapped by a fluid and translucent façade resembling the reminiscent of "a piece of jade". 

Image © CreatAR

As MAD explained, "the concert hall is one of the most significant cultural projects in the nation’s capital." 

"It will become the first permanent residence for the China Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave rise to a new generation of symphonies in China."

The concert hall is located on the south side of the Workers’ Stadium, one of the most vibrant retail, entertainment and nightlife regions in Beijing. 

Image © Xu Chen

Carving out a space of tranquility, the project was envisioned as a peaceful respite from the bustling environment that surrounds it; a space in which an active dialogue between classical music and contemporary life could take place.

The music venue will consists of a 1,600-seat grand concert hall and rehearsal spaces split between two floors. 

Surrounded by a lotus pond and greenery that will be open to the public, the architectural language of the building is defined by "a fluid and translucent façade reminiscent of a piece of jade." 

Image © Zhengdong Li

Daylight is diffused through the translucent white curtain wall into the lucid space. At the center of the soaring lobby, a grand spiral staircase connects the curvilinear hallways to provide a dynamism akin to the flow of music.

The concert hall is organized in "vineyard style," visualized as sloping terraces and serried rows. On the south side of the building, a 350-seat rehearsal hall is nestled within curved wooden walls shaped to optimize acoustics. 

The ceiling features white sound reflection panels, formally inspired by lotus flowers, are additionally optimized to make the music sound mellow and pleasant. 

Image © Zhengdong Li

By adjusting the molding angles and positions of the ceiling, wall and reflection panels, the early reflected sound from different distances can evenly cover the stage and auditorium to allow the arrival time of the sound to be balanced across the entire space.

The main concert venue will house a 88-pipe world-class organ by specialist Casavant, with different heights and mouth positions appearing like a field of bamboo with cylindrical feet from the base rather than the typical conical form. 

The integrated experience of acoustic floating projections and a daily transition from daylight to artificial light create an immersive multi-sensory space that will prepare audiences for a spiritual music journey that washes away the venue’s urban surroundings.

Image © Zhengdong Li

The façade system adopts embossed glazed glass that makes the building appear white and pure while bringing sufficient natural light to the interior. 

This system is combined with the fabric structure to form a monumental “light box.” The lighting devices are installed parallel to one another on the main steel structure and longitudinal structure to illuminate the translucent membrane surface from behind and softly brighten the façade through secondary reflection. 

Image © Zhengdong Li

The number of devices gradually reduced from the eastside of the building so that to create an ethereal lighting effect from a distance.

The China Philharmonic Concert Hall is set to te built as a pure and sacred oasis in the middle of the city, providing a state-of-the-art performance venue that fosters cultural exchange and stands as China’s new locus for classical music. 

Image © MAD 

Facade diagram

Facade diagram

MAD released details about the China Philharmonic Concert Hall in 2016. MAD expects the building to be completed in 2024. 

MAD is working on the transformation of an old warehouse into a center for dance in Rotterdam. 

Project facts

Type: Concert Hall
Site: 11,600 sqm (124,860 sqft)
Building area: 26,587 sqm (286,180 sqft)
Building height: 24 m
Main Concert Hall capacity: 1,600 seats
Small Concert Hall capacity: 350 seats
 
Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: Liu Huiying, Kin Li
Design Team: Zheng Chengwen, Wang Qi, Fu Xiaoyi, He Xiaokang, Xiao Ying, Zeng Hao, Wang Shuobin, Wang Yiming, Hu Jinchang, Jacob Hu, Brecht van Acker, Wang Deyuan, Dora Lam, Ben Yuqiang, Zhang Long, Deng Wei, Connor Hymes, Chen Yien, Shen Chen, Yan Ran.

Client: China Philharmonic Orchestra
Executive Architect: Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute, Beijing Homedale Institute of Urban Planning & Architectural Design
Structural Engineer: CCDI Group
Façade Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Interior Design: Beijing Honggao Architectural Decoration and Construction Design Co., Ltd.
Lighting Consultant: SIGN Lighting
Landscape Architect: Palm Design Co., Ltd.
Signage Design: Zheng Bang Creative (Beijing) Brand Technology Company Limited

Top image © CreatAR.

All drawings © MAD.

> via MAD 

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