Since 2007, the German Museum of Architecture (DAM) in Frankfurt am Main has awarded its prize, the DAM Preis, to the best building in the country since 2007. The 2019 winner was the reconstruction of the Dresden Palace of Culture by gmp. The procedure for the award is as follows: the museum, taking into account the proposals of the architectural chambers of the federal states, nominates 100 objects for the award, of which the jury selects about twenty in the "short list", then determines the four finalists, and only then - the laureate.
The Palace of Culture in the very center of Dresden, on Altmarkt, was originally opened in 1969: at that time it was the largest hall in the GDR - for almost 2,500 people. It was distinguished by the latest technical equipment and versatility: it was possible to quickly change the seating arrangement, raise or, conversely, lower the stage, turning the space into a ballroom. The palace became the "residence" of two orchestras - the Saxon State Chapel and the Dresden Philharmonic. The fact that the building of architects Leopold Wiel and Wolfgang Hansch was, for financial reasons, deprived of the originally conceived premises for the central library and cabaret theater Herculeskoile (Hercules' Palace), did not diminish its popularity and did not prevent it from becoming a symbol of revival for the Old Town destroyed by the bombing. …
Since the 1990s, the Palace of Culture began to play with the rebuilt Semper Opera, where the Saxon State Chapel moved, and the Frauenkirche Church, a new exhibition complex and congress center. There was seldom a need for such a large hall as his; problems with acoustics, especially serious when performing academic music, began to be perceived more acutely. Machinery is outdated, the building has ceased to be fireproof. The idea of reconstruction arose, and in 2008 the city council approved a restructuring project with the transformation of the "house of socialist culture" into a modern center for arts and entertainment - with a concert hall, cabaret, library and service establishments. At the same time, the building was entered in the register of monuments in Saxony.
In 2009, an international architectural competition was held, in which the gmp bureau won, and
renovated Palace of Culture in April 2017. It remained the seat of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, where, as planned back in the 1960s, the central city library and the Herkuleskoile cabaret moved there; a tourist information center was also opened there. The project budget was slightly less than 90 million euros, the total area of the construction is 37 thousand m2.
The architects' approach was threefold: the facades retained the same appearance as possible, but became energy efficient, the premises around the concert hall - the foyer, the choir rehearsal studio, the stairs - were restored, but the concert hall was rebuilt. Most of the public spaces have retained the "leitmotif" of bright red textiles, as in the original interior. Library furniture, etc. designed by gmp architects.
The concert hall (which can be used for other purposes) can accommodate about 1750 spectators; its layout is of the terraced type, as in the Berlin Philharmonic. The centrally located stage can change its configuration. To improve acoustics, the width of the hall was reduced; the reverberation time is 2.4 seconds in an empty hall and 2.2 seconds in a full one. The reflector above the stage allows the musicians to hear each other better. The 67-register organ is designed for the performance of symphonic works from the 19th and 20th centuries, which makes it unique in Dresden. A special concern of the architects was the creation of transparent and warm-toned acoustics, which support the traditionally "dark" sound of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. Close cooperation of gmp with musicians and acoustic specialists has borne fruit: the reviews of professionals and the public are positive.
On the mezzanine floor below the stage there are rooms for group tuning, makeup rooms for guest artists, storage for keyboards, a cafeteria and offices for employees. Above is the rehearsal room, orchestra changing rooms and archives. Additional storage rooms and a drum rehearsal studio are located in the basement. All three "backstage" tiers are connected by a freight elevator with direct access to the street.
The Dresden Central Library occupied 5,463 m2 on the two upper floors, around the concert hall. Its lobby at the very top, overlooking the Altmarkt square, is conceived as a "salon". There are also ordinary reading rooms, and rooms for group studies, and a consulting and educational center. The former educational theater hall, turned into a music department, has retained the original floors, as well as the reading room on the third floor with a "crane" ceiling.
The cabaret hall on the basement level received 250 seats and a stage with an area of almost 100 m2. The reverberation time there is 0.9 seconds without spectators, 0.8 - with a full house. Founded in 1961
Herkuleskoile quickly gained a reputation as the most politically political cabaret in the GDR; today it retains its leadership in the field of satire.
During the reconstruction, the façade painting “The Path of the Red Banner” (artist Gerhard Bondzin) and the picturesque frieze in the foyer “Our Socialist Life” (authors Heinz Drahe and Walter Rehn), as well as bronze doors with reliefs depicting scenes from the history of Dresden (Gerd Yeager).
