Salzburg

Mozarteum
Orchestra House

The Mozarteum Orchestra is thrilled to have its own musical venue in the form of the Orchesterhaus – a space for rehearsals, events, and management. Designed by Salzburg architect Franz Fonatsch, the building opened its doors in 1991 and celebrated an impressive 30 years during the 2021 concert season. The wooden roof structure, constructed by WIEHAG in 1990, forms an 'acoustic partnership' perfectly harmonizing with the orchestra playing beneath it.

The visible structure embodies the architectural expression of its engineering. The slender wooden beams convey the airiness of the spatial framework, while the variously inclined steel diagonals resemble the strings of a musical instrument. This project was honored with the European Glulam Award.

Background

A lightweight spatial framework

The structure, a pyramid-shaped roof construction over a square footprint measuring approximately 22 m x 22 m, forms a spatial framework. Seven frameworks are arranged parallel to the outer walls, intersecting at the nodes of the lower and upper chord levels. The lower chords lie in a horizontal plane, while the path of the upper chords is determined by the roof surfaces of the pyramid-shaped tent roof, rising at a 25-degree angle.

The continuous band of light running all around creates the impression of lightness in the construction, offering views of the surroundings, up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. This is made possible by having only the end bars of the upper and lower chords serving as load-bearing elements.

At that time, the design work was done without CAD support. The timber components were manually cut, and the spatial steel nodes were manufactured manually as well.