The historical center of the medieval city of Torun in northern Poland was surprisingly practically not damaged during the Second World War and, as a unique site, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. On the one hand, it is bounded by the embankment of the Vistula River, and on the rest it is surrounded by a wide green zone, behind which there are already new districts. A concert hall was built in this belt, on the border of the old and the new. Moreover, the Yordanka quarter chosen for him has been a favorite vacation spot for Torun residents for many years.
The architects did not use the entire allotted area (slightly less than 47,000 m2), but only half of it (about 22,000 m2), leaving space for a small park. The green belt was not interrupted in this way. The volume itself, or rather, an intricate composition of many bizarrely shaped concrete volumes, has a small overall height, since it is as deep as possible into the ground. As a result, “rocky” brutal edges do not disturb the silhouette of the city from different vantage points. But in order to nevertheless bring their building closer to the historical center, broken brick was mixed into the concrete, which with "bloody" cracks appears on the almost white facades.
Adding fragments of other materials to concrete - Fernando Menis's know-how, already tested by him on other objects, in particular in the building
Concert Hall Magma at home. The technology, called picado (from Spanish can be translated as "shredder"), turned out to be not only effective, but also practical, as it allows you to achieve good acoustics in the room. Therefore, if only hints of an unexpected filler are visible on the restrained facades, then inside the expressive material becomes the main decorative technique.
The architects admit that initially it was planned to place only a concert hall in the building, but in the process of working on the project the idea arose of a flexible multifunctional space where absolutely any event can be successfully held: from a chamber concert of classical music to a crowded show, from an opera performance to an experimental theater., from a film screening to an exhibition. At the same time, the budget remained the same, the building cost the city 51 million euros. Two halls, for example, are separated by a removable partition and can be used separately or together. Mobile chairs allow you to reorient and rearrange rooms, while movable ceiling panels adjust acoustic performance. Moreover, the interior space can be open and practically combined with the park, allowing concerts to be held in the open air. In this case, the hall itself becomes a mysterious through cave connecting the city with the public green area.
