Elbphilharmonie, Concert hall in HafenCity, Germany
The Elbphilharmonie combines the base of a brick warehouse with a glass tower that lifts steel and concrete 110 meters (360 feet) above the city. The upper section forms a wave-like profile visible from a distance, reshaping the harbor skyline and anchoring the district around it.
The site held a cargo warehouse from 1963 onward, storing cocoa and tobacco until the city decided to repurpose the building. Conversion work began in 2007 and stretched over ten years before the hall opened with its first concerts in January 2017.
People from across the city gather in the main hall to hear symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, or contemporary composers perform live. The smaller stage draws audiences who prefer chamber music or experimental sounds, and both venues now shape the rhythm of cultural life in Hamburg.
A public plaza at 37 meters (121 feet) above street level lets anyone walk onto the terrace and look out over the harbor and rooftops. A long escalator carries visitors up to the platform, and on clear days it is worth spending some time there to take in the view.
The Great Concert Hall is a 12,500-tonne structure mounted on 342 steel spring packs below and 34 in the roof, decoupling it acoustically from the rest of the building. Acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota fitted around 10,000 micro-shaped drywall panels to scatter sound; some early critics still called the result "appalling".
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