Opera di Firenze, Florence, Italy

Object Type
Concert Halls
Opera Houses

Client
Comune di Firenze, Italien

Architects
ABDR Architetti Associati, Rom

Seats
1800

Completion
2014

Expertises
Building Acoustics
Room Acoustics

Situated somewhat outside the historical city of Florence, Italy‘s new music and cultural center accommodates an audience of over 5,000 in three venues which can be used simultaneously: the opera hall, the concert hall and the "Cavea", an open-air auditorium on the roof.

For the opera hall, the architects developed an innovative interpretation of the historical, horseshoe-shaped gallery theater, which in turn had a decisive influence on the acoustic design. One characteristic of the auditorium with its modern architectural design is that its visually perceived form does not correspond to the acoustically effective space. An acoustically transparent mesh was installed in the hall, concealing its traditional rectangular enclosure. Moreover, behind the mesh acoustically effective elements and surface structures are hidden from the audience's view. The walls in the proscenium area were optimized – also invisibly – in such a way that early lateral reflections are directed to the entire audience area; these are decisive for the opera hall‘s acoustic intimacy.

The horseshoe-shaped curvature of the hall is preserved in terms of architecture without creating any disturbing focusing of sound. The sound field and sound, however, are perfectly defined by the acoustics of a traditional shoebox-shaped concert hall – thus creating ideal conditions for opera performances, symphonic concerts as well as for speech once the acoustic banners invisibly installed behind the mesh are activated.

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