DR Koncerthuset (), previously known in English as Copenhagen Concert Hall, is a concert hall designed by Jean Nouvel. It forms part of the new DR Byen (DR Town) complex, which houses the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and is located in the northern part of Ørestad – an ambitious development area in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Construction commenced in February 2003. The official opening was celebrated on January 17, 2009, making the total time of construction just a little under 6 years. The concert complex consists of four halls with the main auditorium seating 1,800 people. It is the home of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
Construction
The construction, begun in February 2003, was finished in January 2009. The Queen of Denmark inaugurated the venue on 17 January 2009. The project has been a front-page feature in respected El Croquis magazine N.112/113.
With a total surface of 25,000 m², the concert hall complex designed by Jean Nouvel includes a concert hall with capacity for 1,800 people and three recording studios with variable acoustics. The scenography of the concert hall and the three recording studios was designed with dUCKS scéno. The acoustic studies were realized by Nagata Acoustics. The concert hall contains a pipe organ with 91 voices, 118 ranks, and approx. 6000 pipes, built by Dutch organ builders J. L. van den Heuvel.
The main features of the building are a 4,000m² cable net façade and 500m² glass roof, both of which were designed and built by Austrian specialist contractor Waagner Biro.
Cost overrun
The budget has been expanded several times due to the immense complexity of the project. As of 2007 it had reached almost 300 million dollars making Koncerthuset the most expensive concert hall ever built at the time. The former record holder for cost had been the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles at 274 million dollars. The current record holder is the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg at 836 million dollars. The Danish government has refused to grant extra funds for the buildings so, the budget expansion has meant drastic cutbacks in DR staff and funding.