Belgrade Concert Hall
A piece of architecture on the premise of nature
2021
Introduction
Snøhetta’s proposal for the new Belgrade Concert Hall sits on the premise of nature, being more a piece of nature than a piece of architecture. It reflects the flow of energy from both nature and people, binding nature and culture in unity. The main access and diagonal of the site form the premise for the cutting edges.
Technical details
Government of the Republic of Serbia
A natural landmark
The lifted and tilted ground, soil, and vegetation provide a protected interior cultural space with environmentally sound surfaces, capturing CO₂ and thereby reducing the building's carbon footprint.
The Concert Hall emerges underneath as a clear and precise gesture into the landscape, appearing as a natural landmark. It amplifies and extends the park, blending its silhouette gently with the landscape and tree canopy. This creates a new icon of Belgrade, merging into the park and returning the green space to the citizens. The hall naturally integrates an outdoor concert arena.
Photo: Plomp
Amplifying the presence of the park
The sloping roof allows everyone to rediscover panoramic views of the old city and the natural surroundings of the Danube. The transparent surfaces act as connectors between indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing natural light to penetrate during the day and stage lighting to illuminate the surroundings at night. This fusion mirrors interior performances into the large outdoor arena.
The open, transparent glass facade, with its mirrored ceiling, amplifies the presence of the park within the Concert Hall. From outside, the mirrored activities in the Social Space are visible from afar, especially in the evening. The exterior, opaque surfaces of the building fulfill different demands and functions than the inner surfaces, holding representational value and expressing the building's personality and values to the public.
Produces renewable energy
With photovoltaic panels covering the roof of the halls, the building actively produces renewable energy for its own consumption. The sloped green roof offers free access to panoramic views of the old city and the river Danube, over the tree canopies – a new destination that invites the rediscovery of the city and surrounding landscape.
The roof is perforated with two lush green patios, allowing light into the Social Space, like a clearing in the forest. These patios offer the public easy access to the outside from within the core of the Social Space, also known as the Social Den. They maintain a close relationship with the park from within.
Photo: Plomp
The podium as the keystone
The tops of the stages, appearing in the park above the green roof, are covered in vegetation to blend with the horizon and the park, offering an anti-architectural vocabulary. The atmosphere of nature, shaped by the meandering water, extends inside all the way into the stages – referred to as the Performance Canyon.
By simplifying the volumetric description of the building down to three primary surfaces – the opaque indoor, the opaque outdoor, and the transparent glass connector between the two –Snøhetta creates a distinct treatment for each. The podium is the keystone, defining the center point of the Social Space and the outdoor arena in the park.
Photo: Plomp
Lowering the threshold for musical exploration
The Performance Canyon, which differentiates the Social Space and the stages, draws inspiration from the meandering mineral surfaces of Rosomače Canyon in Serbia. It defines the sequence from the Social Space to the core of the stages, the most sacred space, with surfaces gradually transitioning from rougher textures to smoother, more refined atmospheres as one moves toward the stages.
The interior provides cultural experiences and state-of-the-art spaces for visitors and employees alike. These spaces are shaped by lessons from generations of concert halls, offering the necessary proportions for performers and acoustical excellence for the audience. The indoors reflect the cultural functions and social life of the building, with the linings defining the boundaries and embodying the comfort within them.
The project proposes a variety of uses for indoor and outdoor spaces, accommodating both intimate and open performances. It lowers the threshold for musical exploration, offering a wide, flexible space adaptable to numerous functions—a new platform for music and social celebration.