2007 - congress hall - saarbrücken - germany

A redesign in which the main goal was to improve the acoustics of the Congress Hall, a building dating from the 1960s. Although in architectural terms it is a respectable testimony to this period, the hall was conceived as a multi-functional building and was not deigned especially for the performance of classical music. Today, however, the Congress Hall is the permanent home of the Deutsche Philharmonie Saarbrücken and of the Saarländisches Staatsorchester.

The alterations works had to be carried out in a very short time, with a very small budget and more or less while the hall was still operating: the rear wall of the podium was shifted backwards and tilted – it is now bordered by mobile side walls –, the new ceiling to the podium was made at a higher level.

A new gallery – a lightweight construction using steel “blades” with brackets – represents a careful intervention that makes no assault upon the existing building.

The carpeting in the hall had to be replaced by “harder” linoleum; the soffits and the gallery parapets are made in pear wood. T he wall cladding of the old building was preserved but was painted red and the joints were filled with brass sections. T his measure was rather expensive, but is of decisive importance for the atmosphere in the hall.

Bauherr | Client: Congress Centrum Saar GmbH

Planungsbeginn | Start of planning: 2006
Baubeginn | Start of construction: 2007
Fertigstellung | Completion: 2007
Nutzfläche | Usable floor area: 1.378 m2
Umbauter Raum | Enclosed volume: 16.107 m3
Projektleitung | Project management: HVP

Werner Feltes, Anna Rita Cedroni