Illustration of Guangzhou Opera House (Guangzhou Daily)
What will Guangzhou Opera House look like? The project should be finished in the second half of 2008, and is attracting public curiosity.
According to one insider, the opera house, designed by international architect Zaha Hadid and acoustic master Marshall Day, will look like two pebbles, one larger and the other smaller.
The larger "pebble" is the theater, while the smaller one is the multi-functional hall. Both are in different shapes, set among undulating ground with a grassy slope containing the 5 meter high entrance to the opera house. Inside, the stone walls of the halls form an array of fabulous mountains; the transparent glass walls give people the illusion of being outdoors, with natural scenery.
Larger "pebble" serves as a theater; smaller one as a multi-functional hall
The theater will house 1,800 seats with all sorts of equipment, including an art exhibition hall.
The 400 seat multi-function hall will be used for chamber music, dramas, news briefings, fashion shows and lots else. The stage, scenery and even the audience¡¦s seats are all movable ¡V ideal as an experimental theater.
What¡¦s amazing is that, under the green grass to the south of the opera house is a cafe, on top of which is the ticket office.
Guangzhou Opera House under construction (Guangzhou Daily)
Like real pebbles, the halls are irregular shapes ¡V eye catching, but hard to build.
"At least one fourth of the Nest---the main stadium of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games---is symmetrical. However, no beam or column connection of Guangzhou Opera House is the same as any other. To turn the graphic design into buildings, we have to conquer a lot of problems and difficulties. There is nothing similar ¡V no example we can follow in China. It¡¦s even more complicated than the Bird¡¦s Nest in Beijing," said Opera House project manager Mr. Luo Zhiyong.
Dream team builds the best opera house in China
In order to build a first-class opera house combining a unique design as well as excellent acoustic effects, you need a dream team. And Guangzhou has it: designer Zaha Hadid, the first woman Pritzker Award laureate; and Marshall Day, one of the world¡¦s leading acoustic masters, also an award laureate.Guangzhou Pearl River Foreign Investment Architecture Design Institute is China¡¦s first architecture design company specializing in Opera houses, while China Nonferrous Engineering and Research Institute is handling the design of stage machinery and lighting in the Theater..
"Guangzhou Opera House will be the best in China, and high on the list of top opera houses in the world," said Mr. Du Xiaojun, chief representative of Marshall¡¦s acoustic company.
(by Wenli Chen and David Kellaway)
