Elbphilharmonie

The queues of the Elbphilharmonie´s opening concert were not only formed by music enthusiasts – those lucky enough to acquire one of the sought-after concert tickets enjoyed first insights into the space and acoustic environments of the Elbphilharmonie and outlooks on the skyline of Hamburg. Those whom luck did not favour could still enjoy the unique view from the observation deck on the 8th storey. This so-called plaza acts both as an architectural transcendence from the historical warehouse to the glazed new construction, as well as a meeting place for spectators, architecture enthusiasts and concert guests. The plaza leads through extensive staircases into the foyers of the Grand and Small Hall, creating a stage-like entrance for the concert goers.

The sophisticated design concept of the Elbphilharmonie can be found, among others, in the public areas. Large parts of the foyers, the lounges as well as backstage, office and sanitary facilities have been fitted out by Lindner Group in close cooperation with the general contractor HOCHTIEF. These performances required demanding and detailed solutions, which had been developed by Lindner, partially designed in precise 3D models. By using high-quality natural materials and surfaces, the quality standard demanded by the architect and client could be met in form and function.

The winding staircases also required numerous custom solutions, using diversely formed cladding elements. In this way, the fitting teams cladded the walls and ceilings of the foyers and concert halls’ entrance areas partially with Lindner FIREwood compound panels with real wood veneer, partially with sand-coloured wall panels featuring three-dimensional millings. These have a similar appearance to those in the Grand Hall while having a smaller curvature or depth, respectively.

In order to create a smooth jointless appearance in the staircase areas, some of which with a length of up to 30 metres, the individual elements had been milled out like puzzle pieces and pre-assembled during production. Additionally, the highly frequented stairs have been fitted with a wooden veneer coating with a thickness of 6mm on either side of the lateral claddings. Due to the high levels of traffic, fire protection also played a major role. The FIREwood compound wall claddings are “non-combustible” (acc. to class A2 construction material grading) and offer excellent fire behaviour while preventing further spreading of fires. Also, FIREwood complies with the stipulation “low flammability” demanded by German construction law.

The environments have been further improved in regard of acoustics through the large-scale installation of Baswa systems in acoustic ceilings, partly with integrated cooling. Even traditional crafting techniques such as Stucco Encausto surfaces were used in the Elbphilharmonie.

The Elbphilharmonie extends Linder Group´s list of references in the areas concert halls, theatres and public cultural developments, joining similar projects such as the Philharmonie de Paris, the Kulturpalast in Dresden or the Danish Radio Hall in Copenhagen.

Competence Lindner Group
General Contracting

Client
Elbphilharmonie BAU KG

Architect
Herzog & de Meuron, Basel, Switzerland

Construction Supervision
HOCHTIEF

Services Provided
Balustrades: 300 sqm
Benches: 65 running metres
Wall and ceiling claddings 
(partially with „non-combustible“ FIREwood compound panels): 2,000 sqm
Coating and varnishing: 22,700 sqm
Handrails: 500 running metres
Banisters: 350 running metres
Parquet paving works: 8,500 sqm
Stucco Encausto: 200 sqm
Marmorino Veneziano: 7,250 sqm
Steel construction works: Structural steel engineering
Artificial stone: 700 sqm
Terrazzo: 300 sqm
Hollow / raised floors: 2,000 sqm
Plasterboard ceilings: 5,200 sqm
Baswa acoustic ceilnigs: 5,000 sqm
Plasterboard wall lining systems:
10,100 sqm
Fire wall plasterboard systems: 800 sqm
Plasterboard moulded components:
850 sqm