After more than eight years of planning and construction, Kulturraffinerie K714 in Monheim am Rhein opened its doors in early September. Where mineral oil was processed and loaded more than 100 years ago, one of the region’s most distinctive new cultural and event venues has now taken shape.
The design by bez+kock architekten combines the listed historic building with a new, highly visible event volume. At its heart is the highly flexible Grand Hall: around 50 different stage and seating configurations accommodate formats ranging from symphonic concerts, theatre and conferences to rock and pop concerts as well as large-scale events for several thousand guests.
The key challenge lay not only in the acoustics, but in coordinating the many different uses and technical systems within a highly flexible venue. Our interdisciplinary team was responsible for the overall building physics consultancy, including building and room acoustics, as well as audiovisual systems planning. This allowed the requirements relating to space, technology and use to be coordinated at an early stage of the design process.
The hall faced its first major acoustic test at the highest level: the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra opened the venue together with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali. This was followed by a multi-day Grand Opening featuring the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, theatre, dance and staged performances. The opening week concluded with Emmylou Harris’s only concert in Germany as part of her final European tour.
We would like to thank the entire project team for the excellent collaboration and congratulate Monheimer Kulturwerke, bez+kock architekten and everyone involved on the opening of this remarkable new cultural venue.
