Auditorium and Music Centre
Rafael Moneo

Photo: arcspace

The Barcelona Auditorium is situated next to the Plaça de les Glòries north-east of the Historic Center of Barcelona.

The building is defined as a single compact volume with Cor-Ten steel panels inserted into a reinforced concrete skeletal frame. The frame generates a repetitive order in the building and acts as a grid for the openings and the free-standing supports. The geometry of the building is aligned with the grid pattern proposed by Cerdà in the 19th century.

The Auditorium building is entered from a shared exterior foyer, a covered public square that breaks up the volume and also responds to the urban environment. A Music Museum, with its own entrance, is planned around the square.


Photo: arcspace

The space is dominated by a 30 meter high "Lantern", open to the sky, that Moneo placed diagonally to break up the otherwise strict geometry of the building. The "Lantern", the lamp of architecture, is glazed with a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Palazuelo.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

The building houses a Symphonic Hall with a capacity for 2,340 persons, a Chamber Music Hall with a capacity for 700 persons and all the services required; rehearsal halls for orchestras and soloists, a specialized library, recording studios and experimental music laboratories, restaurants, workshops, storage etc. The buildings placement on a podium allows for light to enter the lower levels.

Public routes of circulation, via generous corridors and lobbies, allow for access to the Main Halls on several levels. The golden maple panels and the filtered light generate a warm contrast to the weathered steel panel on the exterior of the building.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

On the south side of the building the structural theme extends to a concrete pergola around an exterior garden. The garden can be accessed from the Auditorium lobby.


Photo: arcspace

The Symphonic Hall, clad entirely in maple paneling, is designed in the tradition of the great classical concert halls with the seats placed at an angle for perfect visibility and the best acoustics.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

The Institute for Advanced Musical Studies will be situated close to the Chamber Music Hall which is still under construction. Access will be by means of a ramp and from vertical cores in the spaces around the courtyard made by the roof of the Chamber Music Hall.


Sketch courtesy Rafael Moneo


Drawing courtesy Rafael MoneoElevation

Drawing courtesy Rafael MoneoPlan

Drawing courtesy Rafael MoneoSection