Located in the heart of Szczecin city, north-west Poland, its symbolic Philharmonic Hall emerges majestically with a spectacular translucent ribbed-glass façade and a characteristic roof profile that gives the appearance of multiple structures joined together. Built on the historical site of the old ‘Konzerthaus’, which was demolished during World War II, the structure enhances the city's specific historical identity with a contemporary monument.

The building features two concert halls, a symphony hall for 951 people and a chamber hall for 195 people, both made in all concrete to achieve better acoustic isolation and light control. They have been conceived as two suspended boxes that form an astonishing lobby between them, lit by skylights, where the spiral staircase is the main protagonist, connecting all spaces of the multifunctional building, measuring 13,000-square-metres. It also contains various meeting rooms for conferences and exhibitions, and administration offices at ground level.

Clad in translucent glass, like an immense crystal, it creates a uniform appearance along the façade and gives the interior a diffused and warm lighting, and at the same time controlling the temperature inside. Meanwhile, at night, the block of lights don't go unnoticed at all, producing a striking glow within the city.

Developed by Spanish studio Barozzi Veiga, the Szczecin Philharmonic Hall project deservedly won the European Union's architecture prize, Mies van der Rohe Award 2015.

Photography by Hufton + Crow.