FURNISHING ELBPHILHARMONIE

In 2014, during his time at WRS Architekten & Stadtplaner GmbH, Daniel Schöning was commissioned by HamburgMusik to develop the furnishing concept for the concert areas of the Elbphilharmonie. For the interdisciplinary and artistic realization, he invited the Hamburg-based design duo Studio Besau-Marguerre to join the team — shaping the project together into a holistic, cohesive result.The collaboration produced a comprehensive design concept that spans the entire concert hall complex: from the foyers of the Grand and Recital Halls to lounges, conductor suites, rehearsal spaces and offices accommodating nearly 80 workstations.At the heart of the design was a single question:
How can furniture take its place
in a building of such architectural and musical radiance?
The answer became a guiding principle of restraint. Furniture that holds its own presence while quietly stepping back behind architecture and music. Unified in a pure white palette, the pieces appear almost dematerialized — creating a kind of inverted “white cube”. Here, it’s not the building that recedes to highlight the objects, but the furniture that withdraws to let architecture and sound take center stage.This subtlety heightens the perception of materiality. Different textures and surfaces open up a broad tactile and visual spectrum — warm to cool, soft to coarse. Like in music, harmonies and dissonances emerge, enriching the sensory experience of the place.

Alongside curated contemporary pieces, the team also developed custom designs specifically for the Elbphilharmonie: tables, benches and side tables for the foyers, as well as a family of glass tables for the Sky Lounge. These pieces translate the central design principle with precision, respond carefully to the spatial context and form a recognizable, cohesive ensemble. In collaboration with manufacturer e15, several of these designs have been produced as part of their collection since 2017.The result is a furnishing concept that brings architecture, interior design and music into dialogue — making the Elbphilharmonie not only an architectural landmark, but a total work of design.

Project Info

Client:
HamburgMusik gGmbH and Elbphilharmonie & Laeiszhalle Betriebsgesellschaft, Hamburg
Planning: 2015–2016
Completion: 2016–2017

Authorship: The project originates from WRS Architekten & Stadtplaner GmbH. It was developed under the direction of Daniel Schöning in performance phases 1–8.

PhOTOS

Nina Struve
Elias  Hassos

PRESS

Baunetz
Wallpaper
Dezeen
Arcade XXL
Designboom