University of Music and Dance, Cologne (DE)

The University of Music and Dance is no longer a single building. The existing and new buildings are spread out in the Eigelstein Quarter enriching their surroundings. The scattered buildings are connected via the Dagobertstraße and form part of the city and district structure. The university buildings directly connect the street space, responding to its scale. The otherwise heterogeneous block edge is interrupted around the university buildings, the existing and the new buildings span a square space to the street.
The concert hall is the heart of the complex and “floats” as a solitaire above the lowered garden courtyard, zoning and structuring the open spaces. The colored concrete cuboid with the raised stylized notes of Jacques Offenbach’s “Galop infernal” stands in sharp contrast to the glazed dance and practice rooms situated underneath and around the courtyard. In addition to being oriented towards a contemplative greenery, skylights flood these areas with natural light and offer insights from the public. The new front building on Dagobertstraße houses dance rooms with high radiance in the public space and enters into a dialogue with the adjacent concert hall and the Art Nouveau building.

Client: BLB NRW, Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb Nordrhein-Westfalen
Architecture: Dietrich | Untertrifaller
Competition: 2015
Area: 3.600 m²

Partner
structural engineering: Bollinger Grohmann Schneider, Vienna / acoustics: Müller BBM, Planegg / landscape: Studio Vulkan, Zürich