The Philharmonic, Luxembourg’s first concert hall

The Project

The Philharmonic, a visionary design of the award-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc, was constructed between 2002 and 2005 on the Plateau de Kirchberg. The facade of the Philharmonic, with its 823 columns in a grid distribution, forms the center of the newly created Place de l'Europe. With its boldly contoured shape, the Philharmonic constitutes an exceptional setting for musical events of all genres.

The layout of the white main building is in the shape of an ellipse; the steel-glass facade is visually dominated by the white, 20 meter-high columns, each 323 mm in diameter.

More than 800 steel columns form the facade of the Philharmonic, fulfilling several tasks. The column grid pattern, which consists of three to four rows, contains one row of load-bearing, vibration-dampening steel columns. The façade columns are made up of two steel half-shells and a solid-steel core. The connection points between the core and glass façade are covered by a thick-walled half-shell outside and by a thin-walled half shell inside. In order to achieve the desired impression of a light-flooded, indirectly-illuminated grand lobby in the foyer, additional non-structural steel columns were arranged in the outer row. The internal, non-load-bearing row of columns integrates components of electrical and air conditioning technology.

The very narrow spacing of the façade columns leads to vibrations from the wind parallel to the façade: the effect of the Kármán Vortex Street. To withstand these dynamic loads, viscoelastic vibration dampers, specifically developed by spannverbund, were integrated in the columns.

The Philharmonic ― an exceptional temple to music with exceptional support. Follow the pictures from our gallery to get a sense of this extraordinary building.