THE CONCERT HALL

Our approach to the National Concert Hall is to create an organic form that flows with the contours of the site within the natural and urban setting of Vilnius, Lithuania. In order to achieve this form, curved, long-spanning structural members are used as the skeletal system that would sustain a flowing canopy roof that drapes over the building.

To house the main hall, a series of 11 glulam arches of the same curvature is constructed to create a large vaulted space sustainably and efficiently. The large arches are constructed in 3-pieces with the bases attached to concrete pedestals. The pedestals have monolithic action to the concrete slab and are placed to cascade down with the slope of the site to make use of the topography for the seating arrangements in the 1500 seat shoebox auditorium. Glulam beams connect each of the arches in the middle and sides to create a rigid structure. Steel trusses sitting above the arches follow the curvature of the vaulted space and hold up the light-weight roof whilst accommodating mechanical equipment for the theatre.

Joining the main hall to the small hall is an administration and lobby area, where the curvature of the glulam arches transition into rigid glulam portal frames. As this middle area of the building is the entry to the building where patrons are directed to either the main or small hall, the transitioning of arches to portals look to reflect this movement between spaces. The roof in this area dips downwards as the wave moves along the building and the transitioning primary members in the lobby accommodates this with their varying size and curvatures.

Going into the small hall from the lobby area sees the use of 3 large identical glulam portal frames arranged in a hexagon with a connection point in the middle of the horizontal members. The connection is located above the stage of a 500 seat vineyard auditorium and centralises the hall both structurally and architecturally to the performance space in the middle. Steel inverted king post trusses that support each of the portal frames also meets at this point. Below the seats is the back-of-house area that is excavated into the flatter surface of the site, where concrete foundations holding the glulam portals reside, out of the sight of patrons. Above these portals are steel trusses that follow the curvature of the rounded roof whilst holding the mechanical equipment of the hall.

With the free-flowing and organic form of the concert hall achieved by having a lightweight, draping roof, the National Concert Hall sits seamlessly within the natural context of the site. By using materials to their maximum structural potential, the building provides the city of Vilnius with a cultural landmark that is sustainable and architecturally appealing.

COLUMN PLACEMENT

COLUMN GRIDS

GEOMETRICAL SHAPE OUTLINES

SHAPE CUT-AWAYS

OVERALL BUILDING GEOMETRICAL LAYOUT + PRIMARY COLUMN PLACEMENTS

1:300 @ A2

The concert hall uses linear shapes to define the layout of the building. The entry lobby area is a simple rectangle that links to a hexagon that articulates the small hall. The main hall is connected to the lobby via a rectangle with cut-outs that form a trapezium, which then links to a larger rectangle that is the auditorium space for the main hall.

The interiors for both halls also use simple and linear shapes to create a geometrical layout that is easy to navigate through for patrons, and order in construction.

The primary structures’ standing points (ends of the primary arches and columns of the portal-frames) are placed on the perimeter of the combination of these shapes. This way, construction of the building is organised and efficient.