Inhabitat reports that three architecture practices have been chosen as finalists for the new concert hall being built to commemorate composer and musician Beethoven’s 250th birthday in his hometown of Bonn, Germany.
These firms are kadawittfeldarchitektur from Germany, David Chipperfield Architects from the U.K., and Valentiny hvp architecs from Luxembourg. The finalists were chosen over high-profile firms such as Zaha Hadid Architects and Snøhetta.
According to ArchDaily, the concert hall is planned for the banks of Beethoven’s beloved Rhine River. This privately funded project is planned for completion in 2019.
Here’s a peak of the shortlisted designs (more information and renderings can be found at beethoven-festspielhaus.de):
David Chipperfield Architects, U.K.
Statement: “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.”
Renderings courtesy of Beethoven Festspielhaus
kadawittfeldarchitektur, Germany
Statement: “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.”
Renderings courtesy of Beethoven Festspielhaus
Valentiny hvp architects, Luxembourg
Statement: "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."
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, CH2M Hill, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest federal government design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Federal Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Manhattan's Pier 57 to be transformed into cultural center, small business incubator, and public park as part of $210 million redevelopment plan
LOT-EK, Beyer Blinder Belle, and West 8 have been selected as the design team for Hudson River Park’s Pier 57 at 15th Street and the Hudson River as part of the development group led by New York-based real estate developer YoungWoo & Associates. The 375,000 square foot vacant, former passenger ship terminal will be transformed into a cultural center, small business incubator, and public park, including a rooftop venue for the Tribeca Film Festival.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA selects three projects for National Healthcare Design Awards
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) have selected the recipients of the AIA National Healthcare Design Awards program. The AIA Healthcare Awards program showcases the best of healthcare building design and healthcare design-oriented research. Projects exhibit conceptual strengths that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns as well as the requisite functional and sustainability concerns of a hospital.
| Aug 11, 2010
AGC: Construction employment declines in 47 states in July
Few states were immune from construction employment declines this July based on an analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found that 47 states saw declines in construction employment, while only two states saw increases and one saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
AGC: Construction unemployment reaches 19.2%
Unemployment in the construction sector climbed to a “horrendous” 19.2 percent (not-seasonally adjusted) as an additional 59,000 construction workers lost their jobs in May according to new federal data, said construction economist Ken Simonson today.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, Arup, HOK among the largest office sector design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Office Design firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Callison strengthens retail design presence with RYA acquisition
Callison LLC on June 1 acquired RYA Design Consultancy, a Dallas-based retail architecture and design firm with offices in New York City. The new “Callison RYA Studio” will merge staff and clients into Callison ’s existing retail practice at their Dallas and New York offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Prism-shaped design unveiled for five-star hotel in Saudi Arabia
Goettsch Partners has been commissioned by Saudi Oger Ltd. to design a new five-star, 214-key business hotel in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As a design-build assignment, Saudi Oger is serving as the contractor, selected by developer Rayadah Investment Company. The project is sited on Parcel 1.08, one of the first 10 parcels currently under development in the massive new master-planned district.