Holl Wins in Ostrava
John Hill
10. July 2019
Image courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
New York's Steven Holl Architects and Prague's Architecture Acts have won an international competition for the Ostrava Concert Hall in Ostrana, Czech Republic.
Last week Ostrava mayor Zdeněk Macura announced the results of the competition, which will see a new 1,300-seat concert hall inserted adjacent to the city's House of Culture, designed by Jaroslav Fragner in a pared-down neoclassical style in the late 1950s. The new bulbous, tapered volume actually abut and overlaps the middle wing of the existing building, uniting old and new and creating what the architects hope will be a "cultural landmark for Ostrava."
The tapered end cantilevers toward the street and acts as the concert hall's main entrance. (Image courtesy of Steven Holl Architects)
A statement from Steven Holl Architects describes the concert hall and its smooth outer form as a "perfect acoustic instrument in its case." The concert hall will be the home of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the leading Czech orchestra for commissioning contemporary music.
On the rear of the building to the north, a large wall of glass faces the adjacent park. (Image courtesy of Steven Holl Architects)
Steven Holl is known for occasionally using music as an influence for his architectural concepts. The formal arrangement of the Stretto House in Dallas, for instance, came out of Bela Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. In Ostrava, Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s theories of time "will guide and give order to the concert hall’s interior geometry."
The "perfect acoustic instrument" (Image courtesy of Steven Holl Architects)
The Ostrava Concert Hall is expected to open in 2023. Visit Steven Holl Architects' profile to see more of Ostrava Concert Hall.