Casa da Música
Casa da Música features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Porto. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type theater
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Porto Porto guide
About Casa da Música
An extraordinary concert hall designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, opened in 2005, with an irregular faceted form unlike anything else in Porto, home to the Porto National Orchestra.
Casa da Música is Porto's premier concert hall and one of the most acclaimed works of contemporary architecture in Portugal, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture). It was conceived for Porto's 2001 European Capital of Culture year, though construction delays meant it did not open until 2005. The building's form is a study in architectural radicalism: an irregular faceted polyhedron of white concrete, like a crystal or a geological formation, sitting in the middle of the Rotunda da Boavista roundabout in western Porto. The main auditorium seats 1,238 and is remarkable for its two walls of corrugated glass that look directly out onto the city, breaking the concert hall convention of total interior isolation. Guided tours reveal the extraordinary variety of interior spaces, including a tile-decorated VIP room and a rooftop terrace. Casa da Música is home to the Porto National Orchestra and the Remix Ensemble, and presents a year-round programme of orchestral, chamber, and contemporary music.
Did you know? Casa da Música's main auditorium breaks the fundamental rule of concert hall design by featuring two walls of corrugated glass that look directly onto the city, Koolhaas argued that isolation from the outside world was a convention, not an acoustic necessity.
How long is a visit to Casa da Música?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Casa da Música. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Casa da Música worth your time?
Casa da Música is among the 25 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Porto, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Porto
Hear the story of Casa da Música
Preview the Porto tour free in the Gingerguide app.