Henning Larsen’s new concert and congress hall elegantly interplays with the historical surroundings of Uppsala, Sweden.
The 14,600 sq m building constitutes an important cultural landmark in Uppsala, offering a new modern chapter to the story of Uppsala city. The 37m-high concert and conference hall houses exhibition areas and three concert halls. With its reflecting metallic façades the building appears as a large, split crystal. The vertical cleft in the building provides the public with access from two sides - from the old historical town and from the modern and vibrant Vaksala Square. The horizontal cleft at the top of the building offers a magnificent panoramic view of Uppsala, which is dominated by the castle, cathedral and university library. The long red escalators connect the various foyer areas leading the visitors from the arrival hall up to level 3, where they are met by a magnificent view of Vaksala Square. From level 3, the escalators continue in a spectacular continuous length of more than three floors up to the grand Hall’s foyer on level 6, which offers a unique panoramic view of Uppsala’s rooftops and historical skyline. In the ‘horizontal slit of light’ which is the large foyer of the hall, the residents of Uppsala and their guests walks around in the hall on a higher level than the surrounding roofs of the city – a visual prelude and accompaniment to the following musical experience.
The grand hall is the largest and most important room in the building seating up to 1150 guests from stalls to balcony.
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