Elbphilharmonie concert hall was designed by algorithms
The auditorium in the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s new concert hall, was in part designed by algorithms. The largest of the building’s three concert halls is a product of parametric design, whereby architects Herzog and De Meuron used algorithms to generate a unique shape for each of the 10,000 gypsum-fibre acoustic panels that interlock to line the auditorium’s walls. In total, these panels feature one million “cells”, which shape sound within the auditorium, creating an effect that is as aurally stunning as it is visually.

The most interesting thing about Herzog and De Meuron’s newly opened concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie, isn’t its wave-like facade, which rises above the city of Hamburg, Germany. It’s not the gently curved elevator at the base of the lobby that deposits you into the belly of the Swiss architects’ alien landscape. And it’s not the Escher-esque stairways that guide you from one floor to the next.

Though Hamburg’s $843 million philharmonic is filled with stunning architectural gems, its most interesting feature is the central auditorium, a gleaming ivory cave built from 10,000 unique acoustic panels that line the ceiling, walls, and balustrades. The room looks almost organic---like a rippling, monochromatic coral reef---but bringing it to life was a technological feat.

The auditorium---the largest of three concert halls in the Elbphilharmonie---is a product of parametric design, a process by which designers use algorithms to develop an object’s form. Algorithms have helped design bridges, motorcycle parts, typefaces---even chairs. In the case of the Elbphilharmonie, Herzog and De Meuron used algorithms to generate a unique shape for each of the 10,000 gypsum fiber acoustic panels that line the auditorium's walls like the interlocking pieces of a giant, undulating puzzle.

One to One

On looks alone, the effect is stunning. The 10,000 panels coalesce into a billowy, off-white skin, punctuated only by 2,150 seats and 1,000 hand-blown glass light bulbs. But beauty was only part of the architects’ intention when they began designing the building more than 13 years ago. “Every panel has a function,” says Benjamin Koren, founder of One to One, the studio that worked with Herzog and De Meuron to design and fabricate the panels.

The 10,000 panels feature one million "cells"---little divots that look like someone used a seashell to carve out a chunk of material. These cells, which range anywhere from four to 16 centimeters across, are designed to shape sound within the auditorium. As Koren explains it, when sound waves hit a panel, the uneven surface either absorbs or scatters them. No two panels absorb or scatter sound waves alike, but together they create a balanced reverberation across the entire auditorium. This technique has been used for centuries (most famously with Vienna’s Musikverein, whose ornate, neoclassical detailing creates the same diffusion effect), but the Elbphilharmonie does it in an entirely new, visually arresting way.