Building a most intriguing new structure in the middle of nowhere, in the small village of Erl near the Austrian-German border, is of course worthy of note. Following a two-year construction period, the new Erl Festival House opened its doors in December 2012. Jutting out resolutely from the wooded landscape, the interplay between the building’s interior and the surrounding nature resulted in a concentrated, spatial composition of a functionally optimized concert hall of international repute. The stunning architecture alone deserves recognition and applause.