Zaha Hadid Architects to build futuristic concert hall in Yekaterinburg (PICS)

The internationally acclaimed bureau Zaha Hadid Architects has won a competition to build the new Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall in Yekaterinburg.

Zaha Hadid Architects

The innovative design is inspired by sound waves and will create unique acoustics. The blueprints also include a concert and chamber hall, as well as a functional lobby that will be used for local community gatherings.

Zaha Hadid Architects

The Yekaterinburg Orchestra is one of Russia's most renowned classical music institutions, collaborates with many international musicians, and performs worldwide. Its current hall was built in 1936 but is struggling to accommodate the increasing number of visitors.

Zaha Hadid Architects

According to an official statement by the bureau, the existing concert hall will be preserved as "an integral element of the new world-class facility that will be one of the focal points of the city's cultural life."

Zaha Hadid Architects

The new building will be located next to one of the city's charming parks, Weiner Gardens, not far from the beautiful Church of All Saints, built on the spot where the last emperor of Russia and his family were murdered.

Zaha Hadid Architects

Despite the modern design, the architects say it will complement the surrounding historical buildings.

Zaha Hadid Architects

Zaha Hadid has already worked in Russia: her company built the Dominion Tower office building and a private house for Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin in Moscow. Among the bureau’s other Russian plans is the construction of a tourist and recreational cluster on the Black Sea coast in the city of Novorossiysk.

Read more: 10 things you should definitely experience in the Urals

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