Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has unveiled the design for a timber concert hall in Altdorf, Switzerland, which will be located inside a listed historic building.
The concert hall in the Canton of Uri region was described as a “beacon of the arts”. The curved structure will be built from timber inside the shell of a listed 19th-century armoury building and will seat around 200 to 250 people.
The project was commissioned by cultural platform Zauberklang.
“Conceived as a beacon of the arts in the Alps, the concert hall in the Zeughaus, Altdorf, will be an intimate space created for world-class artists and audience,” Zauberklang director of artistic projects Andreas Haefliger said.
The wooden concert hall will have an organic shape
Ban‘s concert hall was described as organically shaped and will be made entirely from timber. While the project is comparatively small-scale next to some of his other works, Ban argued that the “significance of a project has nothing to do with its size”.
The Altdorf region is associated with the legend of William Tell, and according to the organisers, Ban described the context of the project as “highly compelling” for architectural intervention.
Zauberklang has teamed up with the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University to bring international music students to the concert hall in Uri, which will also be used as an educational space.
Shigeru Ban wins AIA Gold Medal for “pioneering use of humble, renewable materials”
No completion date has yet been confirmed for the privately financed project, which is expected to cost 45 million CHF (£43 million).
“Zauberklang is excited to collaborate with Shigeru Ban Architects on this project, uniting architectural imagination with artistic vision,” Haefliger said.
Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner Ban is known for his innovative architecture designs that often use natural materials.
Previous works include a thatch-and-cardboard-tube restaurant in Japan, a pair of wood-clad housing blocks in Antwerp and the Blue Ocean Dome Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
The imagery is courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects.
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