house of music innsbruck

urban design concept
what is striking about the city of innsbruck’s intention to establish a house of music is above all its location, a cityscape dominated by a homogeneous historic building fabric, forming an almost theatrical backdrop for the landestheater and the future house of music.
through the demolition of the existing stadtsaal, it becomes possible to extend the square to its built edges and offer it in its entirety as an open-air foyer. urbanistically, no cumbersome corner situation should be created here; instead, the extension of the square, the seamless transition between rennweg and universitätsstraße, and the connection of neighboring districts should be enabled.
this is achieved through a minimal footprint of the building at square level, maximizing publicly accessible space for city users while providing smooth connections to all surrounding areas. the future transformation of the small, disruptive street elements—traffic lanes, parking strips, ornamental gardens, etc.—into a homogeneous, large-scale structure will support this intention.

house of music – hamus
within this historic neighborhood, hamus positions itself as an independent building whose amorphous form responds elastically to urban boundary conditions, avoiding bulky confrontations.
blutbuche, schwarzkiefer, säuleneiche, and leopoldsbrunnen, as well as the edges and height development of adjacent structures, are defining parameters of hamus. the vertical layering of functions, the placement of chamber theaters in the basement, and rehearsal halls in the upper floors create a permeable, open ground floor zone. this arranges the square as part of the scene and defines the entire square as a “pulsating cultural space.”
the curved façade exhibits varying transparency depending on the time of day and light reflection. reflective surfaces enhance the cultural weight of the surroundings; with changing light and in the evening, the building’s edges blur, and the interior functions come to the forefront.

the transparent envelope makes the music activities visible and tangible in the urban space. the height development of neighboring historic structures is relatively homogeneous, except for the hofkirche; hamus continues this structure. through the floor-by-floor layering, the building height is perceived differently from various viewpoints. the dominant level 2 integrates into the neighborhood, while the upper building volume is strongly set back to limit hamus’s vertical impact. the house of music is an open, continuously flowing spatial complex, a place of encounter that does not draw strict boundaries between different usage areas but encourages synergies between the cultural institutions. despite the openness, the organization and location of staircases create an imperceptible yet clear separation between guests and performers. the building’s boundaries do not end at the foyer entrance; rather, the square itself becomes part of the spatial offering. the ground floor zone, with the library and theater café, is part of the public space. the rehearsal hall is elevated as the heart of the building, surrounded by preparation rooms such as the small hall, artists’ dressing rooms, and ancillary spaces. flexible partitioning and merging of large rooms, such as the lecture hall and rehearsal hall of the conservatory, provide an additional 350 m² of hall space, avoiding potential evening vacancy of the lecture hall. the entire music area is designed as a continuous spatial complex, maximizing usage flexibility and density. the chamber theaters, located in the basement, offer additional extended space for the landestheater through efficiently connected backstage areas. max weiler’s wall frescoes find their new location along the longitudinal walls of the large rehearsal hall.