The project, a theatre and concert hall, has transformed the cultural life and the identity of the city of Kristiansand, Norway.
Kilden was opened in January 2012 and is performing with full force. The project is a result of an open design competition held in 2004-2005.
The Performing Arts Centre “Kilden” houses three organizations: the “Agder Theater,” the “Kristiansand Philharmonic” and the “Opera South.”
Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra now has a concert hall accommodating 1200 attendees.
Agder Theater, a regional group, is performing in a theater with a capacity of 700.
The theater hall can be transformed to accommodate opera performances to house the ensemble Opera South.
In addition, there is a stage for experimental theater and a multi-purpose hall with a level floor.
The auditoriums are conceived as individual, high-performance instruments for music and theater productions.
The architectural expression of the halls is formal and precise. They have a touch and feel of units with multiple uses and a very high level of technical functionality.
The core of its architecture is the way the concert, theater and multi-purpose halls are serviced efficiently and without interference.
Along the waterside, a huge cantilevered roof covers both the public city-space by the sea and the foyer space which provides access to the shows.
The undulating facade, clad with local oak, follows the forms defined by the halls and creates a surface separating the real world from the illusional.
The infinite blackness of the other facades emphasizes the spectacle of the foyer.
Passing through, the audience moves from the natural landscape to the realm of performing arts.
The wall allures the audience and expresses the diversity of artistic performances housed by the building as well as the power induced by their combination.
The public foyer is an expressive, free flowing area of improvisation. The foyer is easy for the public to navigate and find their way to the different auditoriums and support functions.
The four performance halls are lined up in the mid-zone of the building leaving the production spaces to the east and audience spaces to the west side.
The building is a sharp object with an almost exaggerated clarity of expression. It stands proudly in the rough industrial surroundings as an elegant machine - a building as an instrument. Name: Kilden Performing Arts Centre Type: Competition 1st prize Status: Built Program: 24.600m2: Concert hall with 1200 seats, Theatre-/Opera hall with 750 seats, multipurpose hall and small theatre hall, offices, workshops, rehearsal spaces, car park for 400 cars. Location: Kristiansand, Norway Client: Teater og Konserthus for Sørlandet IKS www.kilden.com Team: ALA Architects in collaboration with SMS Arkitekter Collaborators: WSP Multiconsult AS (structural engineering), Arup Acoustics (concert hall acoustics), Brekke Strand Acoustics (acoustics), Sweco Grøner (mechanical engineering), Cowi (electrical engineering), TPC (theater technical engineering)