Isarphilharmonie Munich: a black jewel

The temporary concert hall “Isarphilharmonie” in Munich has been completed by the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners. Now the refurbishment of the existing “Gasteig” concert hall can begin.

A little shock awaits the fine Munich concert audience. Because the recently completed Isarphilharmonie has a few surprises in store. First of all, there is the location. The old transformer hall with the inconspicuous, directly connected, simply light gray clad new building is located opposite the mighty thermal power station with its chimneys. In between is a busy traffic lane heading out of the city, complete with tunnel.

On the other side, a rather tranquil residential area along Schäftlarnstrasse and a tire dealer. And yes – the eastern side of the site borders directly on the Isar and would be a welcome ray of hope, but the concert hall is not allowed to benefit from this because, according to the city council, there is already too much partying there anyway, which supposedly causes litter. So the river is hidden behind dense bushes. Concert-goers can park at the slaughterhouse. However, the Isarphilharmonie is best reached by taking the subway and walking ten minutes.

Nevertheless, Max Wagner, Managing Director of Gasteig München GmbH, says during a tour that it was a stroke of luck that this site was found in Sendling. After realizing that the Gasteig itself could not be renovated during operation, no fewer than 36 locations were considered for a temporary solution. By chance, Stadtwerke Max Wagner finally drew attention to this old, empty, listed transformer hall. It is a former transformer hall from 1929 with a concrete base, brick walls and a hipped roof. It was intended to become the focal point of the Isarphilharmonie and the entire site.

However, a temporary building for the adult education center, one for the music academy and a smaller concert hall, a kind of black box for around 150 spectators, were also needed here. They have now been erected in a cost-effective modular design. Initially, the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners and the client had planned to build the concert hall into the old hall. However, this idea was soon discarded, partly for reasons of monument protection, and the hall was turned into a spacious foyer with numerous other functions. The architects then placed the concert hall itself separately right next to the old hall and connected the two with a glazed joint.

The entire Isarphilharmonie project, with four new buildings and one refurbishment, had to be completed extremely quickly and had a very tight budget. The architects only had three years from the first stroke to the opening. To achieve this – and also to stay within budget – they used industrial construction systems and clad the buildings with cheap, silver-grey panels, which means that even the new concert hall exudes the charm of a high-bay warehouse.

Access to the concert hall is through the old transformer hall. Here inside, the next surprise awaits, as it has hardly changed visibly. The concrete floor shows signs of use from the past, as do the worn colored markings. The blue-painted steel balustrades of the three surrounding galleries have been left as they were and still show signs of rust. Only a slightly higher steel guardrail was built in front of the balustrades. All the new cables are visible. The new glass roof is not visible, as the old glass false ceiling underneath has been carefully repaired. High above our heads, the huge, yellow-painted gantry crane seems to be just waiting to get started.

The city library has now moved into two floors of the old building. There are also rooms for the philharmonic orchestra, seminar, meeting and event rooms and much more. New additions include a bar and concrete seating steps. The bar and library will also be open to all visitors during the day.

The concert hall of the Isarphilharmonie can only be accessed via the old transformer hall. From there, you enter a “gap” between the old and new buildings, i.e. the foyer and concert hall, where the construction of the neighboring hall is revealed. A huge steel frame from the industrial building is visible, into which prefabricated ceilings and stairs have been suspended to reach the tiers of the hall. Here you can marvel at the heavy, 30-centimeter-thick cross-laminated timber walls from which the hall is built. They are only impregnated, not painted.

The architects describe the hall of the Isarphilharmonie as an acoustically precious, wooden instrument, comparable to a violin in a profane violin case. The construction consists of a plug-in system of solid wood elements, the weight of which was decisive for the good acoustics. In fact, the shell and instrument are acoustically separated.

But now the hall itself awaits us. This is where the majority of the budget went, and to be clear – the architects invested the money extremely wisely. From the bright foyer, you enter a huge dark cave. The wooden walls and ceiling are painted anthracite. The stage shines out again in light-colored wood – the most expensive purchase according to the architects, as it can be raised and lowered in a variety of ways. A light-colored wooden floor provides orientation, otherwise the rows of seats designed by the architects are also covered in dark fabric. There is space for 1,900 visitors.

No expense or effort was spared when it came to the acoustics either and Yasuhisa Toyota and his team from Nachtat Acoustics, the world-famous concert hall specialists, were commissioned to advise on the geometry of the hall. In contrast to the Elbphilharmonie, the Isarphilharmonie did not opt for a “vineyard” arrangement of the rows of seats, but instead chose the second possible form of a “shoebox”. Nevertheless, there are also a few rows of seats behind the orchestra that can be used by a choir.

In short, the most beautiful modern concert hall in Munich has been created here. Everything around the hall has been forgotten. It is now to be used for five years, as the renovation of the Gasteig will then be completed and the orchestra and all institutions can move back. It is to be hoped, however, that it will remain. But for now, the opening will be celebrated on October 8 with 1,900 guests and a full orchestra.

Location: Hans-Preisbinger-Straße 8, Munich-Sendling

There are currently two other new venues to visit in Munich: the Volkstheater by Lederer Ragnarsdottir Oei and the Schwere-Reiter-Halle by Mahlknecht Herrle.