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Projects   Project Portfolio – July 2005
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Casa Da Musica

Porto, Portugal
Office For Metropolitan Architecture

Rem Koolhaas/OMA challenges old notions of what a concert hall should be in the sculptural Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal


Photo © Christian Richters
   

By David Cohn

Like an ungainly barge or lopsided spaceship, the abstract sculptural form of Rem Koolhaas’s Casa da Musica has made a splashy landing in Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city, overturning conventional ideas of concert-hall decorum with the Dutch architects’ characteristically edgy sense of style. Designed to attract audiences of many different musical persuasions—from acid jazz and samba to classical symphonies—the project aims to be an international landmark that gives Porto a boost amid Portugal’s current economic malaise.

Posed in its own plaza beside a circular park that interrupts a grand avenue connecting the old city to the nearby Atlantic, the Casa da Musica starts upsetting conventions at the front door, offering a new take on the art of making a dramatic entrance. Located midway up the building’s hull-like volume, at the top of a theatrically backlit stair with balustrades of frameless glass, the entry is a glass slot tilted at a rakish 45 degrees that slides open to let concertgoers inside. In the warped space of the hull, twisting runs of stairs and decks climb the outward-leaning walls past soaring angled structural elements to the concert hall, the building’s calm center. Inside the hall, large windows at either end bring in views of the sky before the music begins. Glazed openings let the audience see into brashly colored secondary spaces that are hung around the concert hall like saddlebags and poke out of the exterior skin in unexpected places.

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the People

Owner
Casa Da Música / Porto 2001, S.A.

Architect
Office For Metropolitan Architecture
Heer Bokelweg 149, 3032 Ad Rotterdam
Tel. +31 (0)10 243 82 00
Fax. +31 (0)10 243 82 02
www.oma.nl

Partners In Charge:
Rem Koolhaas And Ellen Van Loon

Team:
Adrianne Fisher, Michelle Howard, Isabel Silva, Nuno Rosado, Robert Choeff, Barbara Wolff, Stephan Griek, Govert Gerritsen, Saskia Simon, Thomas Duda, Christian Von Der Muelde, Rita Amado, Philip Koenen, Peter Müller, Krystian Keck, Eduarda Lima, Christoff Scholl, Alex De Jong, Alois Zierl, Olaf Hitz, Jorge Toscano, Duarte Santo, Nelson Carvalho, Stefanie Wandinger, Catarina Canas, Shadi Rahbaran, Chris Van Duijn, Maria Baptista, André Cardoso, Paulo Costa, Ana Jacinto, Fabienne Louyot, Nicolas Firket

Associate Architect(s)
Anc Architects; Jorge Carvalho

Engineer(s)
Ove Arup; Cecil Balmond And Rory Mcgowan. Afa; Rui Furtado www.arup.com

Consultant(s)
Landscape:
Oma

Lighting:
Ducks Scéno; Michel Cova, Stephan Abromeit, Aldo De Sousa

Acoustical:
Tno Eindhoven And Dorsser Blesgraaf; Renz Van Luxemburg, Theo Raijmakers

Facade:
Robert Jan Van Santen, Abt; Rob Nijsse. Arup Facades www.arup.com

Curtains:
Inside-Outside; Petra Blaisse, Peter Niessen, Marieke Van Den Heuvel, Mathias Lehner

Auditorium Chairs:
Maarten Van Severen

Loose Furniture Foyers:
Daciano Da Costa, António Sena Da Silva, Leonor Álveres De Oliveira

Fire Engineering:
Arup Fire www.arup.com, George Faller

Code Consultancy:
Ohm/Gerisco

General Contractor
Somaque / Mesquita

Photographer(s)
Nicolas Firket, Charles Peronnin, Charlie Koolhaas, Christian Richters, Phillipe Ruault, Nuno Rosado

Renderer(s)
O.M.A. www.oma.nl

the Products

Structural System
Somaque / Mesquita

Exterior Cladding
Concrete:
Unibetão

Eifs, Acm, or Other:
Plaza Finish: Travco (Travertine) www.travco.com.jo

Roofing
Other:
Prégaia (Pré-Cast Panels) www.pregaia.com

Windows
Aluminum:
Facal

Glazing
Glass:
Cricursa www.cricursa.com, Saint-Gobain www.saint-gobain.com

Skylights:
Facal

Doors
Entrances:
Facal

Metal Doors:
Mbb-Glissa, Porseg

Wood Doors:
Mesquita Madeiras

Sliding Doors:
Facal

Fire-Control Doors, Security Grilles:
Gismero www.gismerosl.es, Mbb-Glissa, Porseg

Upswinging Doors, Other:
Facal

Hardware
Locksets:
Dorma Ogro www.dorma.com

Hinges:
Dorma Ogro www.dorma.com

Closers:
Dorma Ogro www.dorma.com

Exit Devices:
Dorma Ogro www.dorma.com

Pulls:
Jnf

Security Devices:
Siemens www.siemens.com

Interior Finishes
Acoustical Ceilings:
Knauf www.knauf.com, Aglofoam

Cabinetwork and Custom Woodwork:
Interescritório www.interescritorio.pt

Paints And Stains:
Cin www.cin.pt, Robiallac

Wallcoverings:
Jofebar (Aluminium) www.jofebar.com, Mesquita Madeiras (Wood)

Plastic Laminate:
Pal Plastic (Polycarbonate) www.palplastic.es

Special Surfacing:
Viuva Lamego (Tiles) www.viuvalamego.com, Merford (Foam Pyramids) www.merford.com, Rephouse (Rubber) www.rephouse.com

Floor and Wall Tile:
Viuva Lamego (Wall + Ceiling) www.viuvalamego.com Sórustico (Floor + Wall) www.rsr-sorustico.com

Resilient Flooring:
Achro (Sports Floor)

Raised Flooring:
Hobo

Furnishings
Furniture:
Vitra www.vitra.com, Lensvelt www.lensvelt.nl

Reception Furniture:
Vitra www.vitra.com, Lensvelt www.lensvelt.nl

Fixed Seating:
Maarten Van Severen (Auditorium Seats)

Chairs:
Daciano Da Costa, Sena Da Silva

Tables:
Sena Da Silva

Upholstery:
Oporto Loft

Other Furniture:
Antiques: Pedro Aguiar Branco

Elevators/Escalators
Tyssenkrupp www.tyssenkrupp.com

Other
Signage:
Letratec www.letratec.com

 
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