Music's House in Porto, a photo from Porto, North

Photographer's Note

Oporto's architectural marvel

Irregular-shaped building was designed by world-renowned architect Rem Koolhaas exclusively for musical performances.

It opened in 2005 and for admirers of architectural marvels it justifies a visit to Oporto on its own.
The striking white concrete structure is an inventive building. Inside the 1,300-seat auditorium of perfect acoustics is a baroque organ pinned to the wall, and the VIP room has hand-painted blue tiles, blending contemporary minimalism with traditional touches.
You can see it all in a highly recommended guided tour.

Top international orchestras have already played here, and there is also a resident company.
On the top floor is "Kool" (named after the architect?), one of the best restaurants in the city. It serves a mostly Italian menu.

From outside some have described the building as looking like a meteorite landed in the middle of the city. It's located on the city's main avenue (Avenida da Boavista that stretches for 7km toward the sea), on a roundabout that is overlooked by a column bearing a lion and a flattened French eagle -- a monument that celebrates the victory of the Portuguese and British in the Peninsular War.

Nikon D40X
2009/07/30 10:46:54.3
Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Image Size: Large (3872 x 2592)
Color
Lens: 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 18mm
Digital Vari-Program: Auto (Flash Off)
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/250 sec - F/8
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Optimize Image: Vivid
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-A
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Normal
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Enhanced
Sharpening: High

Amaz, Budapestman, danos, paura, subhendu_bagchi, celmaleite, xuaxo, chpp, Emile, lucasgalodoido, ChrisJ, Cricri has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mikolaj_kawa (0) 2009-08-20 1:10

Bom dia Aires! Wonderful modern architecture. Very interesting building. Good POV and capture. Very nice weather, nice light and colours. Good sharpness. Saude!

Amaz (11475) 2009-08-20 1:17

Belíssima arquitetura moderna, Aires!!!
Óptima captura e excelente cores, mesmo!
Boa nota sua, amigo!!

Belo travalho!!!!

Meus parabéns,

Budapestman (82620) 2009-08-20 1:50

Hi Aires,
very spectacular modern architecture, I like the contrast between the white building and the blue sky. splendid shot of this imposing building, Tfs! Have a nice day!
George

siamesa (28231) 2009-08-20 2:31

Olá Aires

Belo prédio. Linhas rígidas mas harmoniosas.O céu com esse azul forte ficou maravilhoso como pano de fundo.Parabens.
Abraços
maria

danos (110407) 2009-08-20 3:05

Ola Aires,
really strange and at the same time very modern this structure of the Music House in Porto.For the first glance no seem a large one but reading your note there are inside 1,300-seats! I like the contrast of the colours as the clarity of the shot.Well done.

Have a nice day,Danos

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2009-08-20 3:42

Hello Aires,
A very beautiful shot with an excellent point of view. It's a wonderful shot of this modern architecture.
Best wishes,
Achim

paura (25802) 2009-08-20 3:47

Aires,
A arquitetura é uma beleza e você a mostra de excelente ponto. Lindo trabalho, amigo.

Abraço

Paulo

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2009-08-20 4:25

Namaste Aires, interesting shape of the building. Nicely composed with great clarity. Light and colours are great. Tfs.
Subhendu.

celmaleite (5010) 2009-08-20 7:12

Para mim, uma das belas cidades de Portugal. Me encanta essa moderna arquitetura sob o céu maravilhoso de uma tonalidade forte e exuberante. Parabéns, abraço

xuaxo (6854) 2009-08-20 8:43

Olá Aires,
Pode ser muito bom por dentro, mas por fora não gosto de ver.
Contudo, a foto propriamente dita está bem feita.
Cumprimentos,
Francisco

Nicou (193814) 2009-08-20 9:58

Hello,

superbe bâtiment, une tout belle iamge quelle modernaiteé, quel cadrage parfait, avec ce vitre bleue-verte, grandiose.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

chpp (4283) 2009-08-20 10:07

Hi Aires
very interesting architecture, well captured with bright light and natural colours.
it looks like the sky is always perfect blue in Porto
very nice shot
TFS
C

Emile (20352) 2009-08-20 11:28

Hola Aires.
Una impresionante y moderna arquitectura captada en todo su esplendor. Estupenda iluminacion, colores y definicion. Gracias por tu nota, muy interesante.
TFS.
Abrazos.

lucasgalodoido (27698) 2009-08-20 12:41

Olá Aires,
uma arquitetura bem curiosa e interessante tem esse prédio, deve ter uma boa acústica por causa do formato. Boas cores na foto também.
Parabéns e Abraço

emka (158672) 2009-08-20 14:03

Hi Aires, Very interesting modern building. I had no idea there is something like this in Porto. Fantastic composition and fabulous sky.

Regards

Malgorzata

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2009-08-20 20:07

Como não sou muito modernista acho este mamarracho horroroso!!! Pode ser muito funcional, ter uma acústica excelente mas para mim não passa de um caixote sem graça nenhuma. Acho que o Porto merecia melhor.
quanto à foto, está boa e mostra bem o ...
António

berek (50518) 2009-08-20 22:00

Ola my Friend,
its nice modern building view. I like architecture and calm atmosphere. thanks for note.
best wishes.
Burak

ChrisJ (172372) 2009-08-20 22:02

Hi Aires

A marvellous blue sky, with good perspective on the modern building, & superb sharpness & light contrasts. The pedestrians add scale & context. Good colour and framing. Have a great weekend!

rodgerg (55767) 2009-08-21 9:25

Olà Aires,

a beautiful modern architectur and a nice presentation of this architectur with a good framing, a POV well selected. The poeples give an interesting idea of the scale of the edifice and a pleasant element of life.
Amizades,
Roger

Cricri (176) 2009-08-22 11:19

Hola Aires
Belle mise en valeur de ce bâtiment ultra moderne, belle lumière et cadrage, intéressante aussi avec le POV différent en WS, belle image et note
Have a nice week end
cricri

pablominto (53746) 2009-08-23 5:31

Hello Aires,

Modern architecture is often a pleasure to photograph, with the special lines shapes and geometry!
This is a fine example,and you have found an effective point of view...
The different shades of blue makes this quite awesome!

Greetings,
Pablo -

danyy (0) 2009-08-23 22:29

Bonjour Aires;
une modernité bien géométrique ne laissant pas de place aux courbes. Un joli ciel dispense de belles lumières que tu as su exploiter au mieux.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

giorgimer (35017) 2009-08-26 5:46

Olà Aires,

very nice architectural shot, good POV and quality.

TFS

G