Award-winning Norwegian multidisciplinary design firm Snøhetta has won the international design competition to create the Shanghai Grand Opera House, in partnership with Shanghai-based architecture firm ECADI (East China Architectural Research and Design Institute).
As the most important initiative in China's cultural 13th Five Year Plan, the opera house is set to become a cultural landmark, offering Chinese and Western opera performances, classical music concerts, and more experimental programming, too.
Sitting along the Huangpu River in the Expo Houtan neighborhood, the opera house will feature a dramatic, radial roof that unfolds like a fan in a form inspired by the dynamism and grace of dance. The curving motif continues in the open air spiral staircase that connects the roof and the ground floor, as well as throughout the rest of the interiors, which include three auditoriums that seat between 1,000 and 2,000 people.
There's also the outdoor plaza, which will be open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the aim of promoting the feeling of public ownership of the complex. The project will be eco-friendly and low-carbon.
Silk lining and oak wood floors elevate the acoustics of the space, while generous windows offer stunning views of the city and river, allowing plenty of natural light to pour in. The main hall features striking red panels and a skylight.
Snøhetta has created some of the world's most recognisable public projects since its founding in 1989, including the library in Alexandria, Egypt, the Norwegian National Opera, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City.
Photography: Courtesy of Snøhetta
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