festspiele erl

architectural concept
the passions festival theatre by schuller assumes in its configuration and positioning the role of the prima donna at this location. its dominant appearance must be preserved as a sign. in accordance with this requirement, the new winter festival theatre is scaled back in its height development and further structured through a comprehensive building volume, thus reducing its perceived mass. the building volume of the existing passions festival theatre integrates the existing mountain and uses the natural terrain for the ascending tiered seating area. similarly, for the new festival theatre, the terrain is to be seen as a structural element. since the rock at the intended building site penetrates the terrain much more dominantly, the winter festival theatre is positioned parallel to the rock. with this parallel positioning, the handling of the rock can be reduced through the appropriate positioning of the building masses. the foyer, shared by both buildings, can optimally connect the new festival theatre over two levels and two flanks. both building volumes develop their main masses starting from street level. the volume of the existing theatre lightly floats on the ground floor, resolved in columns. accordingly, the building mass of the new object only becomes present from the shared upper foyer level. the new winter festival theatre is not the little brother of the existing passions theatre, but its spatial extension and climatic complement with appropriate presence.

foyer
for the passions festival theatre, used exclusively in summer, a weather- and climate-protected foyer was originally not required. however, by now, a weather-protected summer bar has become obviously desirable. connecting old and new, the new foyer is embedded as a link between the two buildings in two flowing levels, following the outdoor spatial concept of the existing passions theatre, and serving the tiered seating of the new festival theatre via a shared foyer. the need to work in the rock becomes visible as a staged element of the foyer. energetically, the constant temperature of the natural rock benefits both winter and summer operation. both hall volumes appear in the foyer as prominent building masses in the field of view of festival visitors.

materiality
while the summer festival theatre appears as a massive, sculptural building with dynamic vertical height development, the new festival theatre is horizontally structured. the surface of the new building differs from the smooth plaster facade of the existing theatre. it is not clearly defined but designed in variable layers. the foyer and the comprehensive building volume are wrapped in translucent metal structures. on the facade, these can be rotated vertically. this allows both a free view of the landscape and efficient sun protection. this layering presents the building differently depending on the time of day: during the day as a restrained, translucent band around the new festival hall; during evening events as a radiant element, emphasizing and illuminating the inner capsule of the concert hall.

circulation
guests enter both buildings through a shared foyer. separately, artists have a distinct access to their dressing rooms and the stage. trucks unload directly into the assembly room or transport materials vertically to the workshops or the connecting level in the passions theatre via the located freight lift. the upper foyer level connects the stage area of the winter festival theatre seamlessly with the stage area of the passions theatre.

concert hall
form and acoustics of the concert hall
the form of the concert hall is based on the rectangular shape of classical concert halls, but the side walls are splayed in the stage area and the front hall, and receded in the rear hall. this hall shape optimizes the room acoustics. the proportions correspond to acoustically favorable rectangular halls, while disruptive multiple reflections or flutter echoes are prevented in this configuration. the side balconies serve acoustic structuring, providing additional sound mixing. the ceiling, segmented into multiple angles, ensures diffuse sound scattering. the hall form with its various inclined surfaces creates a high-quality sound mix.

stage and tiered seating
the tiered seating rises gently in the front area and more steeply from the central aisle to guarantee optimal direct sound and sightlines for the audience. the rear rows are elevated, ensuring excellent acoustic conditions there as well. the front area of the lower side balcony serves as a lighting balcony for side spotlight positioning and additionally provides a means to achieve optimal acoustic conditions for the orchestra ensemble.

walls and ceilings
walls and ceilings are not arranged parallel to prevent sound reflections. walls and ceilings have massive enclosing surfaces to avoid sound energy loss. the chosen building construction is a wooden sandwich structure, executed in the interior of the concert hall as an approx. 20 cm thick solid panel. the spatial volume of the tiered seating area for 750 visitors is approx. 7500 m³, the stage volume approx. 6000 m³, thus meeting the requirements.