After Hadid won an international architectural competition, her project was harshly criticized by the townspeople: they did not like its size and high cost.
Now the volume of the concert hall (more precisely, its new building, since the new building will complement the old building of the City Casino) has decreased in height from 24 to 12 m, so as not to overwhelm the nearby Gothic church that houses the historical museum. The shape of the building has become more elongated. Those spaces that should have been on the upper tiers were either deleted from the project altogether, or moved to other parts of the building. A cantilever stem will protrude far into the square in front of the concert hall.
The structure will be a steel frame and the façade will be faced with sandblasted cast aluminum panels. Holes will be made in them so that sunlight penetrates in during the day, and at night, electric light will pour out through them.
The start of construction is scheduled for July next year, and the opening is scheduled for September 2009.
