Mercator Hall in the CityPalais, Duisburg, Germany

Object Type
Concert Halls
Townhalls & Congress

Client
City of Duisburg

Architects
Busmann + Haberer Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Cologne

Completion
2007

Expertises
Building Acoustics
Construction Dynamics
Room Acoustics
Acoustic Measurements
Audiovisual System Design

The new Duisburg Mercator Hall is a multipurpose center for all kinds of events, concerts and conferences. It forms part of the CityPalais that also houses a shopping center, the Duisburg casino as well as offices. The Mercator Hall comprises a large hall seating up to 1,750, a small hall seating 600 and a congress area with conference rooms of different sizes and separate foyer areas each.

With its excellent concert hall acoustics, the large hall is the home of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Thanks to numerous variable room acoustics features like the large acoustic banners concealed behind the panels on the lateral walls and its sophisticated podium technology, the hall may also be used for high-class show events and conferences. In terms of acoustics, the small hall is primarily designed for a congress usage. In order to achieve a minimum background noise level in the halls, the issue of numerous and complicated sources of disturbing noise, e.g. the shopping center on the ground floor or the subway located in close proximity, had to be solved.
The halls and the congress area are equipped with state-of-the art audio-visual media technology. By precisely adjusting the sound reinforcement systems to the respectively required room acoustics, they provide a perfect intelligibility and clear sound of music, even during
performances of classical music.

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