The Gehry studio will design a new orchestral concert hall and home for the Bavarian Radio Symphony of Munich, Germany. Formed in 1949, the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra is one of two full symphonic orchestras operated by Bavarian Broadcasting. The Orchestra currently performs in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz, former royal palace of Bavarian Monarchs, as well as in the Gasteig, a collection of cultural institutions built in Munich in 1985.
Now seeking a permanent home in Munich, Nikolaus Pont, Managing Director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, will work with the Studio to consider sites and program for the orchestra which fulfill its long term goals and future direction. The studio will focus primarily on the detailed development of a singular space for the experience of music. Working at multiple scales from the interior room to the city, the studio will consider the dynamic relationship between audience, stage and performer.
The studio will be run in close collaboration with Ara Guzelimian, Dean of the Julliard School, who acts as advisor, liaison, and friend to the studio. The studio begins with a visit to NYC where students will tour a variety of performing arts venues and participate in conversations with associated specialists. Following initial discussions, students will undertake collective research on the orchestra and site as well as create a series of precedent studies investigating concert hall typologies and music performance history.
The studio will look at a variety of art forms as a tool for considering how ideas resolve in a range of work. Throughout the course of the semester students will meet with a variety of musical experts ranging from musicians, composers, conductors, acousticians, artistic and managing directors, to better understand the nature of the given program. Additionally, students will visit multiple venues to further consider the relationship between design, creative expression and experience. These will include visits to museums and artist studios, as well as theatrical and musical performance venues.
During travel week, the studio will visit Paris, Berlin, and Munich. We will tour the current and prospective sites as well as visit existing concert hall venues and participate in conversations with noted composers and conductors. In Paris we will visit the recently completed Philharmonie, Cite de la Musique, IRCAM, and La Fondation Louis Vuitton. In Berlin we will attend a rehearsal/concert at the Berliner Philharmoniker and in Munich we will meet with the Client and hear a performance in the Gasteig.
During Spring Break, the studio will additionally travel to Los Angeles to visit the office of Gehry Partners and tour the Disney Concert Hall.
For their individual projects, students will design independently and will be encouraged to investigate a personal approach to the given design problem. There will be strong emphasis on large scale physical models throughout the semester as a primary design tool.
