Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall (NOSPR)
Brick concert hall of 2014 on the site of a former coal mine, home of the Polish Radio orchestra.
The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, founded in Warsaw in 1935 and re-established in Katowice in 1945, moved into this purpose-built hall in October 2014. It stands in the city's cultural zone on the site of the former Katowice coal mine, alongside the Silesian Museum and the International Congress Centre. Tomasz Konior's design wraps the auditorium in dark brick, a material chosen to echo Silesian industrial and vernacular building, around a planted inner courtyard.
The main auditorium seats about 1,800 and takes the form of a shoebox, lined in timber and ringed by balconies, with acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics and an organ built by the Austrian firm Rieger. A smaller chamber hall holds about 300. Programming spans symphonic repertoire, contemporary Polish music, chamber series, jazz and family concerts, and the building also hosts visiting orchestras and festivals.
Highlights
- Shoebox auditorium of about 1,800 seats with acoustics by Yasuhisa Toyota
- Dark brick exterior recalling Silesian industrial architecture
- Rieger concert organ in the main hall
- Chamber hall and planted courtyard within the cultural zone
