Casa da Música
Rem Koolhaas's faceted concert hall on Boavista, home to Porto's symphony orchestra and daily tours.
Casa da Música is Porto's principal concert hall, conceived for the city's term as European Capital of Culture in 2001 and finally opened in 2005. Designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas with OMA, it takes the form of a faceted white concrete shell set on a travertine plaza beside the Rotunda da Boavista. The geometry was adapted from an unbuilt private house, and the building is run by a foundation that maintains several resident ensembles.
The interior is organised around the Sala Suggia, a shoebox auditorium seating roughly 1,200 whose end walls are glazed, so that audience and city face one another. A smaller, flexible Sala 2 hosts jazz, electronic and experimental programmes, and further spaces include rehearsal rooms, a cybermusic studio, a restaurant and a roof terrace. Programming ranges from early music and symphonic repertoire to contemporary composition and popular genres, with guided tours the usual way to see the auditoria.
Highlights
- Faceted white concrete shell designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA
- Sala Suggia, a hall of about 1,200 seats glazed at both ends
- Home to the Porto Symphony Orchestra and the Remix Ensemble
- Daily guided tours of auditoria, rehearsal rooms and roof terrace
