Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra

The new concert hall in Lodz was constructed right in the centre, close to Piotrkowska, the main street of the city, on the site of the former hall which ceased to be used at the beginning of the 1990s because of its bad state of repair. In spite of the solutions employed in the 1998 winning competition design, envisaging the reconstruction of the most important fragment of the old edifice (built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century), the historic façade was pulled down and replaced by a self-supporting concrete frame with a very simplified concrete cornice, faced with a layer of glass with a screened-on image of the original facade. The interiors of the building are particularly attractive; owing to the glass expanse of the façade and such elements as the elevator, they create an impression of spatiality. The main auditorium with 750 seats has been inserted in the mass in such a way that a fragment of its 'bottom' is visible in the foyer (text from Architektura Murator 09/2005).