New cultural venue rises in Hamburg

Hamburg's new landmark, the Elbphilharmonie concert hall will open to the public on Jan 11, 2017, in HafenCity district, according to the project's long-term financer, the city senate.

The cultural complex is part of the HafenCity urbanization plan which has been aiming to turn the old dock storage area into a modern neighborhood with versatile usage by 2030. The prestigious North German Radio (NDR) Symphony Orchestra - the first radio orchestra inaugurated in Germany after the end of the Second World War – will be the orchestra in residence of the Elbphilharmonie.

Designed by Herzog & de Meuton, an architecture firm based in Basel, Switzerland, the 110-meter glass-covered building is based on an old brick warehouse at the frontier of the Elbe River delta - Germany's gateway to the world. In 2014 alone, it attracted around 30,000 tourists to marvel at its futuristic combination of crystalline walls and undulating rooftops.

The main concert hall will be able to accommodate 2100 people with interlocking rows of terrace seats surrounding the center stage, where world-class artists will be performing classical, unplugged jazz and pop music. To achieve the best sound effects, Yasuhisa Toyota, one world's top sound designer, created a "white skin" and a large sound reflector to disseminate sounds evenly to each corner of the hall. The "skin" consists of 10,000 gypsum fiber panels that cover the surface inside the hall and the sound reflector suspend from the center of the dome-shaped ceiling.

Between the old warehouse and the new glass structure is a public space that offers a panoramic view over Germany's most important harbor city on the North Sea coast, at a height of 37 meters. Two small concert halls, a restaurant, a hotel and a 45-household luxury apartment complex will also inhabit the building.