Casa da Musica

Rem Koolhaas / OMA – Casa da Musica in Portugal, 2006

The Casa da Música is the main concert hall in the city of Porto in Portugal.
For the elaboration of the project idea, Rem Koolhaas recovers a 1998 project, the "Y2K" house, a study carried out only at a conceptual level for a private house in Rotterdam. The starting concept is therefore closely linked to the shape of the building, whose function and size have been completely revisited. The building is isolated, within an open space. The completely pedestrian travertine street level deforms as it rises near Avenida de Boavista and Rua 5 de Outubro, producing interior spaces for shops or for access to the underground floors.
Rising eight floors above street level and three underground floors, the building reaches a height of about 40 m at the top supported by sturdy walls in white reinforced concrete about 40 cm thick which form, in shell, the outer casing. Internally the structure is conceived with a hybrid structural system, which firstly sees a load-bearing structure in reinforced concrete that runs vertically from the foundations to the Sala Suggia and secondly a reticular steel structure which, resting on the concrete partitions , is articulated up to the roof. The complexity of the structure is undoubtedly linked to the singular shape of the building, from which an articulated composition in plan also derives.

While on the ground floor there are music laboratories, a study room and a refreshment area, the square leads to the main part of the building via a long aluminum and glass staircase that allows entry into a foyer. The foyer develops vertically for the entire height of the building until it reaches the roof and the VIP terrace. This space is characterized, in addition to the exposed structural concrete, by structural long-limbed elements that literally "pierce" the space like pins. In addition to the numerous accessory and service spaces, it is possible to highlight those that are the characterizing interior spaces. See full description on Wikipedia