Sala Nezahualcoyotl
UNAM's vineyard-terraced concert hall, home of the university philharmonic orchestra since 1976.
Sala Nezahualcoyotl was built in 1975 and 1976 within UNAM's Centro Cultural Universitario in the south of Mexico City, and opened on 30 December 1976 with a concert by the university philharmonic, the OFUNAM. It is named after Nezahualcoyotl, the fifteenth-century poet and ruler of Texcoco. Arcadio Artis designed it as the first vineyard-style hall in Latin America, with the audience of about 2,300 arranged in stepped terraces around a central platform.
The acoustics were worked out by the American consultant Christopher Jaffe, taking the Berlin Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as references, and the hall has long been regarded as the finest orchestral room in the country. Its 240 square metre stage can be reconfigured, and a movable canopy above it adjusts reflections. Besides the OFUNAM's subscription seasons it hosts the university's early music and youth orchestras, chamber recitals, jazz and visiting soloists, with many concerts also streamed.
Highlights
- Vineyard-terrace seating, the first of its kind in Latin America
- Acoustic scheme by Christopher Jaffe, modelled on Berlin and Amsterdam
- Home of the Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM (OFUNAM)
- Adjustable stage canopy over a 240 square metre platform
