Snøhetta recently won an international design competition for the Shanghai Grand Opera House in Shanghai, China. The Oslo-based firm has developed the architectural, landscape, interior, and graphic design for the project, which will be undertaken in partnership with ECADI.
The 134,000-sm Opera House will be built in the Expo Houtan neighborhood. The sweeping form of the building is meant to embody the concept of movement while the helical roof surface evokes an unfolding fan. The radial movements of the roof form a spiraling staircase that connects the sky and the ground. The spiraling, fanning design extends throughout the project into the lobby, halls, and the three auditoriums.
A 2,000-seat main auditorium, packed with technology and superior acoustics, rests at the heart of the project. A 1,200-seat second auditorium offers a more intimate setting for smaller productions while a 1,000-seat third auditorium includes a flexible stage and seating for experimental performances, meant to attract a new generation of opera goers. Additionally, the roof will become an accessible stage and meeting place for large-scale events and everyday visitors. A series of restaurants, galleries, exhibitions, museums, education centers, libraries, and small cinemas will also be included.
Oak wood forms the main floors of the galleries and the interior of the hall to ensure good acoustic properties. The wood is stained in hues of dark red in the hall itself. Large glass panes open up the main hall to natural light that changes the experience inside the building at different times of day or from season to season. Exterior lights change the appearance of the stage towers at night to create glowing lanterns that illuminate the roof and skyline.
See Also: Cincinnati Reds debut renovated Reds Hall of Fame and Museum
The Shanghai Grand Opera House is slated for completion in 2023.
Related Stories
| Sep 9, 2014
Ranked: Top religious sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Brasfield & Gorrie, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
Ranked: Top local government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
STV, HOK, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 29, 2014
The new College Football Hall of Fame opens in Atlanta
Adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, the three-story, 94,250-sf attraction is designed to celebrate the traditions of college football.
| Aug 29, 2014
Phifer and Partners to design 'transparent' Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
The design includes a stage that opens onto the city's Parade Square, so anyone passing by will be able to see performances.
| Aug 25, 2014
Ranked: Top cultural facility sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Arup, Gensler, and Turner head BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
| Aug 14, 2014
Museum of Mayan Culture draws inspiration from temple design [slideshow]
The Museo Maya de América in Guatemala City will be the world’s largest museum of Mayan history and culture, at 60,000 sf.
