PROJECT FIGURES
- Size: 14 x 35 m for a maximum height of 14 m
- Total surface are of the building: 6,500 m2
- Seats: 464
- Volume of the hall: 5,300 m3
Access to the Auditorium is from three different levels:
- Lower ground floor
- Ground floor
- Upper ground floor
THE CENTRAL STAGE
The hall is designed for performances by soloists and chamber ensembles.
The oval-shaped stage is 85 m2 (smaller diameter 8.40 m and larger diameter 10 m) and is placed at the centre of the scene guaranteeing an optimal view and acoustics from any seat in the audience.
MATERIALS
Ceiling: painted plaster
Walls: plaster, wood, original doors
Floor: wood – oak parquet
Stage floor: wood – yellow Alaskan cedar
Seats: designed exclusively for this auditorium in orange velvet
- The walls have kept their original finish: white-painted plaster in dialogue with the light grey colour of the ceiling
- The original doors have been recovered and carefully renovated
- The new parts, such as the seats, are covered with warm, honey-coloured wood
- 1,225 m2 of warm, honey-coloured maple used to line the tulip-shaped structure of the Auditorium and all the other sculptural elements.
The project provided the construction of supporting walls in reinforced concrete to compensate for the lost pressure of the earth removed.
ARCHITECTURE IN DIALOGUE WITH ACOUSTICS
- Architecture is made to create feelings, but the acoustics studied by Yasuhisa Toyota are the real strong points of the Auditorium and have reached a level of perfection that allow it to be also used as a recording studio. The acoustics of the Auditorium are completed with a series of expedients that well interact with the architectonic choices :
- The insertion of movable acoustic curtains behind every opening for an accurate definition of acoustic response
- More movable acoustic curtains beside the stage are hidden by a wooden lining with a surface 50% open. This micropunching designs a highly decorative architectural motif lining the perimetral wall;
- The central “stage” was defined in all its acoustic and structural details by Yasuhisa Toyota, creating a cavity wall 60 cm high which acts as a soundbox;
- The ceiling has been modelled with shapes, curves and rounded lines to support and improve the diffusion of sound. This effect has been obtained by making a thick cement ceiling suspended over the seats;
- So as to retain the possibility of using natural light, though insulating against noise from outside, the original openings have been fitted with double windows with high-performing acoustic glass.
- The hall, however, in its constituting elements maintains all the character dictated by Cocchia in 1942.
- The Auditorium’s great “sculpture” was made with a concrete structure. Blades of laser-cut steel draw its shape; a metal mesh to which the plaster is attached is anchored onto these blades. The whole is smoothed and subsequently veneered with varnished maple wood to recall the wood used to make violins
- The air-conditioning system is completely hidden inside the auditorium’s structures and allows an excellent level of comfort thanks to the skilful balance of a radiant system in the floor and walls combined with the air renewal system which introduces up to 10,000 m3/h of suitably treated outside air. An integration system allows the hall to be quickly brought to the desired temperature before performances. The whole air-conditioning system has a zero acoustic impact thanks to the meticulous work carried out in the design and construction phases.
- The lighting system, fully integrated into the architectonic structure, contributes to the creation of scenic effects enhancing the aesthetics of the whole complex.