Competition of the concert hall and the headquarters of the Transylvania Philharmonic Cluj-Napoca

Thematic dossier

text: Adrian SPIRESCU

Team: architecture - arh. Adrian Spirescu, arh. Marina Raicopol, arh. Lucia Mit, arh. Cosmin Popa, arh. Mihaela Pelteacu, arh. Ruxandra Iordan, arh. Raluca Cojocaru; structure - eng. Alexandru Boangher; acoustic study: arh. Marius Smighelshi

Our team's project proposes an urban and architectural approach that will generate a unified image in order to support the high cultural status of both the Transilvania Philharmonic and the city of Cluj-Napoca. The proposed site is located in the vicinity of the central area and covers an area of 13,923 square meters.
Mode of insertion and relationship in the existing urban context; integration into the site: the historical fabric of Cluj presents a closed typology of plot conforming, with enclosures and street frontages. On the other hand, modern urbanism has introduced autonomous constructions, in which the public space extends beyond the street boundary and includes the free surfaces between the built volumes.
For these reasons, the project proposes a reconciliation between the two opposing tendencies: the traditional weave and urban fluidity as a requirement of modern space.
The urban and architectural concept is based on the idea of porosity, of reconciling opposites; the project opts for the formula of relativizing the limits of the land, which is considered as a whole.

The materialization of this intention is made through a "veil" on an urban scale, with a height of 16.50 m, inserted in the alignment - at Bd. 21 Decembrie and Năvodari str. - and on the lateral separating boundaries of the lot.
Through the proposed urban and architectural concept, the land destined for this investment acquires permeability qualities, becoming a structuring element at the city scale. "The urban 'veil' as a whole activates both the interior and exterior spaces of the city, and is designed to be perceived as an autonomous element. This element makes direct reference to the metaphor of the organ; the vertical parts that describe the musical instrument thus become the unifying harmonic rule, like those that music establishes.
The architectural veil, the metaphor of the organ, permanently represents a tactile proximity that envelops the spectator throughout a fluid public space, containing the solid elements of mixed-function volumes: the Concert Hall and the Transilvania Philharmonic, centers for business and creative activities, exhibitions, cafes, etc.
Based on the design principles for sustainable architecture, a high-performance sheet envelope was conceived to respond to the different demands.

SUMMARY OF ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE, ISSUE 5-6/ 2019
COMPETITION