Building captures kinship of music and architecture
Posted
06/1/2009
Austria is
steeped in unparalleled music richness, from Mozart to Haydn to
Strauss. It is also characterized by its appreciation of harmony
and musical art, with stately structures from all eras underlining
the reputation of the country as a treasure trove of architectural
delights. The new Centre for Music and Music Theatre, known as
MUMUTH, in Graz, Austria, testifies to the remarkable spiritual
kinship of music and architecture.
After an international architectural competition, long years of
planning and two years of construction, MUMUTH opened on March 1.
The facility was designed by Ben van Berkel and the architects at
the UNStudio, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and features a filigree
membrane of woven metal mesh by GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG, Düren,
Germany, giving it the look of a finely strung soundbox.
Van Berkel picked up on the classical relationship between music
and architecture and reinterpreted it with international twists. He
created a building that renders the music performed in it
physically tangible, while making the architecture ring out. With
free-flowing forms and interior spaces, the building supports the
music in the same way that music influenced the building's design.
A central spiral, made of decorative concrete, is a dominant
element, analogous to the art of the fugue.
The core of the three-story building is the 5,705- square-foot
(530-m2), 450-seat multifunctional hall with cutting-edge stage
equipment. The building features two rehearsal stages, orchestra
and musical theater rehearsal rooms, offices and installation
rooms. The arrangement of the orchestra and musical theater
rehearsal rooms, with the foyer in between, provides optimal
acoustic separation while allowing them to be used
simultaneously.
As a discreet, shimmering monolith, the MUMUTH building only
allows a view from outside into the complex musical score of the
spatial structure at night. During the day, the slightly curved,
reflective metallic skin enters into a visual dialogue with its
surroundings. At night, LED lights transform the protective
membrane into an imaginative fusion of transparency and
colors.
GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG's Omega woven metal mesh materializes the
glass façade of Graz's prestige project as variations on a theme.
Woven in varying densities with smooth transitions, the
textile-like skin functions in daylight as visual and sun
protection. The project features 66 panels of the Omega mesh, each
measuring 57 1/3 by 11 feet (17.5 by 3.3 m), for a total of 43,075
square feet (4,000 m2) of translucent skin. The double-curved zones
of the façade posed a challenge to GKD. The leading edges of the
orthogonal mesh were curved to fit the slightly bulging form of the
façade like a second skin. The radial mesh edges were finished with
special flat profiles that were fastened in a corresponding way
during the tensioning of the mesh façade panels. The resulting
woven metallic veil's rhythm, harmony and proportion cause the
interior and exterior of the MUMUTH to coalesce into an enchanting
symphony of glass, concrete and stainless steel.
GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG
www.gkd.de