The German firm gmp (Architekten Von Gerkan, Marg und Partner) finished refurbishing and enlarging te Kulturpalast of Dresde in 2017. A result of a 2009 competition, the intervention respects the style of the original building, raised in 1969, while redoing the interior layout to accommodate a new program combining culture, education, and entertainment.

The main space, a large glass-enclosed foyer, is thought out to take in a large audience and to connect the concert hall directly with the Altmarkt square, a strategic hub of city life.

On the other hand, the new building containing the library and the concert hall – which can seat 1,800 – engages in dialogue with the preexisting construction without imitating its forms nor radically lording over it. Instead, special attention has gone to details like color, materials, and geometry, with red maintained as the institution’s leitmotif.

The Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt has been awarding the DAM Preis for outstanding buildings in Germany since 2007. The Kulturpalast Dresden was chosen as winner of the DAM Preis 2019 from four finalists that were selected from a shortlist of 22 nominated buildings.