Szczecin Philharmonic

The Szczecin Philharmonic, finished in 2014 by the Barcelona practice Estudio Barozzi Veiga, stands on the corner where the city's old concert house once stood, and it answers the surrounding nineteenth-century roofscape with an abstraction of it: a white translucent glass skin over a row of steep ridged gables, lit from inside at night so the whole block glows. Inside, the main hall is lined in gold-leafed folded surfaces, a deliberate contrast to the white exterior, and the acoustics were tuned for the resident orchestra. It won the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award, in 2015, which is the highest architectural award in Europe and had not previously gone to a Polish building. The foyer with its cascading white stairs is open during the day, and guided tours cover the halls when they are not in use.

History

The orchestra gave its first concert under Felicjan Lasota on 25 October 1948 and was named after the composer Mieczysław Karłowicz in 1958. Until 2014 it played in the rooms of the Municipal Office, and on 14 September 2014 it moved to its new building on Małopolska Street, with a main hall of 1000 seats and a second of 200, which won the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2015 (Wikipedia, Szczecin Philharmonic).

What to look for

• A ridged white block - translucent glass gables that glow after dark.
• A gold-lined main hall - folded gilded surfaces against the white outside.
• The Mies van der Rohe Award - the 2015 European architecture prize.
• Open white stairs - the foyer, accessible during the day.

When to go

All year; after dark for the lighting. Two hours.

Before you go

The halls are only seen on a tour or with a concert ticket, and tours depend on the rehearsal schedule. Concerts sell out. The foyer alone is a short visit.

Nearby

The Chrobry Embankment and the Ducal Castle are a short walk east.

Key facts