European music month, Basel, Switzerland

Object Type
Concert Halls

Client
European Music Month, Basel

Architects
Herzog & de Meuron, Basel

Completion
2001

Expertises
Room Acoustics

The European Music Month – at that time the biggest festival for contemporary music in Switzerland – was held in Basel in 2001. Based on the design of the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, the Paul Sacher Halls were turned into a temporary music venue by creating a traditional concert hall as well as a large experimental stage.

The concert hall with its rectangular floor plan and raked seating accommodated an audience of 1,000. On the walls, wooden panels were installed which – in combination with the existing sound-reflecting ceiling – created good acoustics as well as sufficient screening against ambient noise. The fabric which – according to the design concept – was to cover walls and ceiling was developed by means of measurements as a synthetic material adequately transparent in terms of acoustics. Thus, the hall‘s acoustical properties with a reverberation time of approx. 2.0 s, given its volume of approx. 13,000 m³, equal those of renowned traditional concert halls.

In contrast to the concert hall, the experimental stage needed to be strongly attenuated in order to create ideal acoustics for concerts with electronic music or with electro-acoustic amplification. Here, large curtains and carpets were used for creating temporary absorption surfaces.

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