Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra building, Concert hall in Strefa Kultury, Katowice, Poland.
The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra building is a concert venue in Katowice's Culture Zone with two performance spaces: a main hall seating around 1,800 people and a smaller chamber space for about 300 listeners. Inside, more than 400 rooms house recording studios, offices, and common areas distributed across the building's full width.
The orchestra moved to Katowice in 1945, and a new building designed by architect Tomasz Konior was completed in 2014 to serve as its home. The acoustic design was developed by Yasuhisa Toyota, a specialist known for concert hall sound engineering.
The building has become a social gathering place where classical music, jazz, and contemporary works draw people from across the region. Its presence helped reshape how the city relates to its industrial past, turning this area into a destination for arts and culture.
The building is large and complex, with many different areas accessible to visitors as well as spaces reserved for staff and performers. It helps to allow extra time to explore, as the structure is designed for multiple functions beyond main performances.
The main hall features colored concrete walls that completely surround the stage, creating an unusual setup that reduces distance between musicians and the audience. This design choice creates a more direct listening experience than what visitors typically encounter in traditional concert spaces.
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