![]() ![]() High-quality materials, extensive masonry details, and contrast between lines and textures make up the exterior façade of the building. The Kleinhans Music Hall has a daunting yet graceful structure. Southern Building Façade_©Bilyana Dimitrova Main Building Entrance_©Chuck LaChiusa The Main Auditorium_©Bilyana Dimitrova Staircase leading to Upper Floor Lobby_©Bilyana Dimitrova Materials and Construction | Kleinhans Music Hall The interior of the music hall seems to be entirely streamlined by Eero Saarinen to suggest the notion of “architecture as frozen music”. The lighting details, cladding and curved walls of rooms are also well coordinated. The 50-foot-wide lobby is an arched space with curved vestibules, lifts, and sinuous stairs leading to the upper lobby and balcony area. The curved proportions of the violin also inform the interior of the building which is completely curved with no straight lines or walls. The stepped roofs on either side of the main auditorium are also a significant feature of the exterior. ![]() The ends of the pool connect to the two major entrance lobby areas on the north and south side of the building to complete the ellipse. The main auditorium forms one half of the ellipse while the reflective pool curved around the Mary Seaton hall is the other half. On the exterior, Eero Saarinen essentially designed the building as a giant ellipse inspired by the violin. The main auditorium has fan-shaped proportions with an original capacity of 2,839 people, with 1,575 seats on the main floor and the remaining 1,264 on the balcony. It is considered to be designed in the shape of a violin and has three major areas: the main auditorium on the west side, Livingston Hall, and the Mary Seaton Room on the east side of the building. The Kleinhans is famous for its successful integration of an architectural ideology with the technical requirements of a concert hall building. Building Shaped as a Violin_©Derek Gee and Buffalo News Architectural Planning and Details The intention was to have a space-saving solution and a streamlined design to complement the hall itself. The lyrical curves of the violin serve as the primary element of the building design.Īdditionally, Eero Saarinen also designed accessories like couches, chairs, and water fountains to be used in the Kleinhans Concert Hall. They thought of the Concert hall as a musical instrument on its own and accordingly derived the form of the structure in the shape of a violin. Symphony Circle, Buffalo _©Derek Gee and Buffalo News Design Philosophy and ConceptĪccording to the Saarinen duo, the design aimed to create “an architectural atmosphere…so as to tune the performers and the public alike into a proper mood of performance and receptiveness, respectively.” (Kleinhans Music Hall). The Kleinhans family not only provided the city with a music hall but also brought recognition and enjoyment to the people of Buffalo. This was to address the compelling and growing need of Buffalo city for an appropriate concert hall to host concerts and orchestras and celebrate civic life. The building is dedicated to and named after the Kleinhans family and was commissioned by Edward Kleinhans in memory of his mother and wife. Eero Saarinen, Finnish Architect Kleinhans Music Hall _©Bilyana Dimitrova Introduction and Purpose | Kleinhans Music Hallĭesignated as a National Historic Landmark, Kleinhans Music Hall is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world and is located on Symphony Circle in Buffalo, New York. ![]() “I have come to the conviction that once one embarks on a concept for a building, this concept has to be exaggerated and overstated and repeated in every part of its interior so that wherever you are, inside or outside, the building sings with the same message.” ![]()
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