Casa da Música, Concert hall in Porto, Portugal.
Casa da Música is a concert hall on Avenida da Boavista, at the Rotunda da Boavista, designed by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2005. Its pale grey concrete upper block carries a grid of blue-green glass panels and a taller dark-glass corner, with a slanted glass wall beneath an overhang. Inside, the Suggia hall has pale wood walls with wavy lines, an organ of silver pipes and a rectangular acoustic canopy above the stage.
The building opened in 2005 as part of Porto's celebration as European Capital of Culture, marking Portugal's first venue dedicated exclusively to music. Its inauguration represented a turning point in the city's cultural infrastructure.
The name Casa da Música simply means "House of Music". The resident ensembles cover early music on period instruments, the symphonic repertoire and contemporary premieres, and the educational service runs inclusive projects such as Som da Rua, begun in 2009 with homeless participants, and Mundi for immigrant communities. The annual Ao Alcance de Todos festival is aimed primarily at people with special needs.
The hall stands on the Rotunda da Boavista, on the site of the old Boavista tram terminus, at the end of Avenida da Boavista. Enter through the glass and metal doors at ground level on the left of the concrete facade. The main auditorium, Sala Suggia, seats 1,238; the flexible Sala 2 holds about 300 seated or 650 standing. A restaurant operates inside.
The 1,238-seat Sala Suggia is the only concert hall in the world with two walls made entirely of glass. Its interior also holds 13 large surfaces, up to 65 by 8 metres, finished with a gold-leaf woodgrain pattern.
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