Projekt Sali Koncertowej Orkiestry Sinfonia Varsovia i zagospodarowanie architektoniczne nieruchomości przy ul. Grochowskiej 272 w Warszawie / Neubau Konzertsaal des Warschauer Symphonieorchesters

Principals: Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Project Architects: Thomas Vietzke, Jens Borstelmann
Design Team: Tom Wünschmann, Peter Pichler, Martin Krcha, Suryansh Chandra, Torsten Bröder

URBANISM

CULTURAL CENTRE
The concert hall design Sinfonia Varsovia will establish a new cultural hub within the city of Warsaw and furthermore vitalize the neighbouring districts via the urban integration of the existing buildings and the new concert hall structure by means of a network of routes and paths through the site. The site is connected to all adjacent street and path networks. Three main access points from the southern Grochowska main road, the western Terespolska street and the eastern park paths lead to the centrally situated Foyer of the concert Hall.

SITE CIRCULATION
The passages through the site incorporate the existing symmetrical layout and extending it to strategic points to the surrounding city fabric. The sites central axis is registered and reinforced while transforming its original rectangular grid into a more fluid and continuous circulation system. Park areas towards the east of the site are connected and the overall accessibility is maximized.

REACTIVATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES
Five buildings are maintained and refurbished connecting the old with the new in a sustainable manner and activating the overall planning area with various programmatic destinations and a series of differentiated spatial qualities. New plazas will emerge along the highly connected walkways and historic sites such as the existing central plaza as well as the old market in the north west corner are architecturally reinforced and appear in a new light within the overall campus design.
The old market will be accentuated via a water fountain and resting areas surrounding the historic curvilinear contour.

NEW ORGANIZATIONAL DIAGRAM
A lattice pattern as a new layer of spatial organization is stretched over the whole site in order to enhance the unique atmosphere of the new cultural centre and underline its coherence. This organizational device is expressed in a series of material changes, green islands, lighting devices, urban furniture extrusions and becomes highly 3dimensional as a façade system enveloping the concert halls.

ACCESSIBILITY
By creating an underground parking area the possibility of connecting the concert hall building and buildings A and B is enabled and the briefs requirements for additional parking spaces are met. Large roof lights allow daylight into the parking areas. All Areas of the design are DDA compliant.


ARCHITECTURE

MASSING
The concert hall is situated towards the north of the site within two maintained buildings which are reactivated for future use and functionally connected with the new structure. The building volume respects the local height restrictions and is integrated well within the existing ensemble. The main historic plaza serves as the entrance plateau for the concert halls ground floor foyer.

CULTURAL LANDMARK
While the positioning of the building on the central axis pronounces its solitary landmark appearance, the building is linked to the surroundings via a large transparent foyer which blurs the inside outside boundary between park and foyer space. On the concert halls façade a lattice pattern forms an open structural cocoon with the main concert hall and the rehearsal hall/ chamber music
hall as ‘floating’ entities within.

PUBLIC LIFE
Public activity will be visible through the external skin, creating a festive sense of participation displaying the cities vibrant cultural life. The central vertical lobby space with open balconies allows vistas through large façade openings into the park and simultaneously to different balcony levels. The foyer stretches not only from east to west connecting the visitors from the two adjacent buildings and their front plazas but also connects the historic southern plaza underneath the uplifted rehearsal hall with the central lobby space, thus allowing for a high degree of urban continuity into the building.

FACADE
The external envelope expresses both halls in its concave and convex hull surface expressing a sinuous contour layer draped over the main programmatic destinations. The foyer is registered with a subtle concave recess east and west of the buildings symmetry axis. The nesting of the main volumes within the transparent envelope triggers anticipation and intellectual curiosity. While the
historic sites axial characteristics reverberates latently in the architecture it is transformed to an innovative contemporary structure that will be a significant contribution to the contemporary international discourse of outstanding design innovation.

RATIONALIZATION
During the second phase of the competition the facade design was optimized specifically along the lines of feasibility. Various rationalization steps have been undertaken to address structural, building physics, geometric and fabrication constraints. The utilization of symmetry, repetition, planarity and modularity lead to an optimized facade system that proves to be highly buildable while improving
its genuine design characteristics.

FUNCTIONALITY
The concert hall is designed along the guidelines of highest standards of functionality and ergonomic criterions. Delivery, back of house planning and visitor flow are well accounted for and prove to surpass comparable international projects of this size and ambition. The size of the foyer balconies relates to the amount of people accessing it during the intermissions providing high quality generous foyer space. The delivery Zone is well proportioned allowing large trucks to park within the
building envelope to cater for a secure and easy stage delivery. The artists entrance is separated from the delivery entrance in order to provide a comfortable and prominent approach for performers from the north west.