Isarphilharmonie

Opening Year2021
LocationMunich, Germany
Capacity1,800 seats
Architectgmp Architekten
ClientGasteig München GmbH
UserMunich Philharmonic

When a substantial renovation of Munich’s Gasteig cultural complex and its 2,400-seat Philharmonie—originally opened in 1985—was decided in 2017, plans were quickly drawn to create a temporary campus where all activities could be relocated during the refurbishment process.

The new interim campus, named Gasteig HP8, is located in the southern Sendling district of Munich. It was designed by architects von Gerkan, Marg, and Partners (gmp) and comprises of several buildings. Chief among them, the new Isarphilharmonie seats an audience of up to 1,850 people, and will serve as the interim residence of Munich Philharmonic, as well as host performances by local and touring ensembles and performances. Nagata Acoustics was chosen to design the room acoustics for the hall in a dedicated acoustical competition process in the spring of 2018. After only 3 fast-paced years of design and construction, the hall opened to the public on October 8, 2021.

The temporary nature of the construction presented the most unique challenge to the design of the hall, and became a defining feature, while requiring careful priorization to ensure that world-class standards would be met. Concrete construction was avoided where possible, and instead, a steel structure with composite timber walls and ceiling was preferred and planar segments were favored for ease of fabrication, and on-site assembly. However, to avoid flat, parallel walls which could result in acoustical flutter echoes, and to scatter the reflected sounds, a sawtooth motif was applied to all the wall and ceiling profiles, which also further helps diffuse and distribute sound reflections. The stage was designed and dimensioned to accommodate a full-size symphonic ensemble. It features motorized risers for the orchestra as well as a movable stage apron which can reduce stage depth and increase seating capacity for cross-over events.

⭳ Fact-sheet


⭳ 2019-05 News Article