Utopie Kulturforum

1956: Hans Scharoun’s design wins the architectural competition for the new Philharmonie in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.

“I know of no existing concert hall in which the seating problem has been solved as ideally as in this design. By placing the orchestra virtually in the center of the room, it seems guaranteed that more than before in any of the well-known halls, the typical style of musical interpretation of the Philharmonic Orchestra, whose main characteristics are the long, spacious swinging out and the special breath in the beginning and at the end of a musical phrase, can be rehearsed and presented here in an ideal way.”
Herbert von Karajan (explaining the decision in favor of Scharoun’s design).