Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) recently won a competition to design a new concert hall in Russia. The forward-thinking firm is rarely satisfied to play it safe, and this once again prove to be the case as it produced an unusual design inspired by sound waves.

The new Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall will be located in Yekaterinburg, in the foothills of the Ural Mountains, and will include a 1,600-seat concert hall and a 400-seat chamber music hall, both designed to offer excellent acoustics. It will provide a new home for the city's Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, which has performed around the world.

The concert hall will be situated between several buildings and its transparent facade will offer views of adjacent gardens to concertgoers. The old Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Hall is housed within a Civic Assembly Building and was built as a club for all citizens to gather. In a nod to this, the new design calls for a lobby that will serve as a public plaza. The building will also be topped by a rooftop terrace offering views of the city.

The new Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall's 1,600-seat concert hall has been designed with acoustics in mind VA

"Echoing the physical aspects of sound waves, the design of the new Philharmonic Concert Hall is based on the properties of musical sound resonance creating wave vibrations in a continuous smooth surface," says ZHA. "The design re-interprets these physical acoustic properties to define spaces for the auditoria that are suspended within the canopy, appearing to float above the new civic plaza that is both the lobby of the Philharmonic Concert Hall and an enclosed urban square."

ZHA has been quite busy in Russia as of late and has unveiled several projects in the country, including its largest port, an office and the firm's only house to date. We've no word yet on when the concert hall is expected to be completed.

Source: ZHA