With its reflecting metallic facades Uppsala Concert and Congress Hall appears as a large, split crystal.
The vertical split in the building provides the audience with access from two sides – from the old, historical town and from the modern and vibrant Vaksala Plaza. Through the horizontal split at the top are views of Uppsala’s characteristic skyline, which is dominated by castle, cathedral and library.
The concert and congress hall’s 14,600 m2 are laid out on eight floors including the basement. The concert hall comprises exhibition areas and three halls, of which the largest with 1150 seats is designed for symphonic music.
The long red escalators connect the various foyer areas of the house and lead the visitor from the arrival hall to level 3, where the foyer offers views of Vaksala Plaza. From level 3 the escalators continue in a spectacular unbroken stretch over 3 floor to the Great Hall’s foyer on level 6, which opens to an amazing view of Uppsala’s rooftops and skyline.
Uppsala Concert and Congress Hall appears as a modern and dynamic landmark for the city in an elegant interplay with the existing historical buildings. Since the inauguration in 2007 the concert hall has become a significant and unifying element in the city, and as an open house that welcomes new experiences and extends the city centre, the building was awarded Stadsmiljöpriset (urban environment award) in 2008.
Uppsala Concert and Congress Hall – Grand Hall Uppsala Concert and Congress Hall comprises three different concert and conference halls. The great hall is the largest and most important room with 1150 seats from parquet to balcony. Here the audience rows stretches from stage level on level 5 all the way op to the rearmost balcony on level 8. The foyer level of the hall is located on level 6, which opens to the amazing view of Uppsala's rooftops and skyline.
The Great Hall is fitted with unique acoustics and thus accommodates a repertoire ranging from great symphonic orchestra concerts to modern hip hop, pop and jazz. To achieve this effect the walls in the concert hall are designed as tilted fibre-concrete elements covered with birch laminate, which meet the specific acoustic demands for the reproduction of symphonic sounds. The acoustic wall panels reflect the geometric shapes from the facade just using another material.
The location of the concert hall on the 6th floor and with a view of Uppsala's rooftops required a close collaboration between architects, engineers and acoustics. The result is an untraditional concert hall with unique acoustics.
Proces & Collaboration Henning Larsen Architects won 1st prize for its competition proposal among 134 proposals from all over the world. At its busiest time the 14,600 m2 concert hall engaged 16 employees from Henning Larsen Architects, among these was Mette Kynne Frandsen (project manager), Johnny Svendborg Andersen (architect responsible), Håkan Sandhagen, Klavs Holm Madsen, Jesper Høibjerg, Maria Sommer, Birthe Bæk, Matthias Lehr, Filip Lyders Francati, Merete Alder Juul, Lars Harup, Ina Borup Sørensen, Mette Landorf, Andreas Olrik, Jan Besiakov, Kornelia Sirmulyte, Martha Lewis, Bent Møller Petersen, Carsten Fischer og Rasmus Haak.
