Hamburg’s striking new concert venue, the Elbphilharmonie

Hamburg’s glittering Elbphilharmonie was designed by Pritzker-winning Swedish architects Herzog & de Meuron.

The glass panels in the Elbphilharmonie’s exterior reflect the Elbe River.

The 7,000-square-meter roof weighs approximately 1,000 tons and is covered with 6,000 giant sequins.

The building’s façade is made up of 1,100 individual panes that measure four to five meters wide and approximately three meters high. Small, reflective dots prevent the structure from overheating in the sunlight.

The public viewing plaza offers 360-degree views of Hamburg’s harbor.

A curved escalator connects visitors to the viewing plaza. At 82 meters, the moving stairway is the longest in Europe.

A 2.5-minute journey through the escalator’s illuminated tunnel transports you through longitude of the brick Kaispeicher.

A foyer leads to the Grand Hall.

The Grand Hall accommodates 2,100 guests arranged in vineyard-style rows.

Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota suspended a sound reflector from the ceiling of the Grand Hall.

The Grand Hall is covered in “White Skin,” sound panels crafted by the Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota.

The “White Skin” in the Grand Hall was measured by the millimeter for perfect acoustics .

A four-manual organ was built for the Grand Hall. Its sound is ideal for both contemporary and 19th-century music.

Visitors walk through the foyer of the Elbphilharmonie’s Recital Hall, the smaller of the building’s concert areas.

The Recital Hall sits 550 people and will host more intimate performances of jazz and chamber music.

Guests look out through a glass window in the Grand Hall foyer.

The plaza surrounds the entire building and contains vast interior space, as well as a shop and restaurant.