Guangzhou Opera House / Zaha Hadid Architects

Mar 2011

Uploaded by Nico Saieh — Filed under: Cultural ,Featured ,Selected , China, Concrete, Glass, Guangzhou, Iwan Baan, Steel, Zaha Hadid Architects

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Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects
Location: Guangzhou, China
Project Director: Woody K.T. Yao, Patrik Schumacher
Project Leader: Simon Yu
Project Team: Jason Guo, Yang Jingwen, Long Jiang, Ta-Kang Hsu, Yi- Ching Liu, Zhi Wang, Christine Chow, Cyril Shing, Filippo Innocenti, Lourdes Sanchez, Hinki Kwong, Junkai Jiang
Local Design Institute: Guangzhou Pearl River Foreign Investment Architectural Designing Institute (Guangzhou, China)
Structural Engineering: SHTK (Shanghai, China); Guangzhou Pearl River Foreign Investment Architectural Designing Institute
Façade Engineering: KGE Engineering (Zhuhai, China)
Building Services: Guangzhou Pearl River Foreign Investment Architectural Designing Institute (Guangzhou, China)
Acoustic Consultants: Marshall Day Acoustics (Melbourne, Australia)
Theater Consultants: ENFI (Beijing, China)
Lighting Consultant: Beijing Light & View (Beijing, China)
Project Management: Guangzhou Municipal Construction Group Co. Ltd. (Guangzhou, China)
Construction Management: Guangzhou Construction Engineering Supervision Co. Ltd. (Guangzhou, China)
Main Contractor: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co. Ltd. (Guangdong, China)
Project Area: 70,000 sqm
Project Year: 2003-2010
Photographs: Iwan Baan

Like pebbles in a stream smoothed by erosion, the Guangzhou Opera House sits in perfect harmony with its riverside location. The Opera House is at the heart of Guangzhou’s cultural development. Its unique twin-boulder design enhances the city by opening it to the Pearl River, unifying the adjacent cultural buildings with the towers of international finance in Guangzhou’s Zhujiang new town.

ground floor plan

The 1,800-seat auditorium of the Opera House houses the very latest acoustic technology, and the smaller 400-seat multifunction hall is designed for performance art, opera and concerts in the round.

The design evolved from the concepts of a natural landscape and the fascinating interplay between architecture and nature; engaging with the principles of erosion, geology and topography. The Guangzhou Opera House design has been particularly influenced by river valleys – and the way in which they are transformed by erosion.

Fold lines in this landscape define territories and zones within the Opera House, cutting dramatic interior and exterior canyons for circulation, lobbies and cafes, and allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the building. Smooth transitions between disparate elements and different levels continue this landscape analogy. Custom moulded glass-fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRC) units have been used for the interior of the auditorium to continue the architectural language of fluidity and seamlessness.

The Guangzhou Opera House has been the catalyst for the development of cultural facilities in the city including new museums, library and archive. The Opera House design is the latest realization of Zaha Hadid Architects’ unique exploration of contextual urban relationships, combining the cultural traditions that have shaped Guangzhou’s history, with the ambition and optimism that will create its future.

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: © Iwan Baan

: site plan

: ground floor plan

: second floor plan

: third floor plan

: fourth floor plan

: fifth floor plan

: roof plan

: east elevation

: north elevation

: south elevation

: west elevation

: section 01

: section 02

: details 01

: details 02

: details 03

: details 04

: details 05

: details 06

: details 07

: unfolded layout of the primary steel structure

: unfolded layout of the secondary steel structure

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

Cite:
Saieh , Nico . "Guangzhou Opera House / Zaha Hadid Architects" 01 Mar 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 May 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/115949>

Comments (20)
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Links to this entry (1)

rockylovesemily says:

it is so captivating that i dont think anything short of genius will suffice, yo.

# March 1, 2011 at 15:36

architect says:

i think this architecture lacks emotion…

# March 1, 2011 at 16:13

Allan says:

In contrast it generates emotion in people.

# March 1, 2011 at 16:27

Als says:

# March 1, 2011 at 16:28

Beautiful public building.

# March 1, 2011 at 16:24

ChangChang says:

The erosion concept seems good and interesting, but way too much figurative in this case, although I really like the rehearsal room and the structure layout.

# March 1, 2011 at 16:51

Rosca says:

not a catalyst, I would say, since it is a part of a larger development headed by the government. and not next to a river either. and the thing has more steel in it than the bird’s nest in beijing.

# March 1, 2011 at 22:19

Katsudon says:

I hope they’re thinking about new costumes for attendants to fit the spaceship style interior?

# March 2, 2011 at 00:05

Sanjeev Sabharwal says:

Fantastic Urban Sculpture!

# March 2, 2011 at 02:54

up_today_arch says:

Real crearivity after long break…..

# March 2, 2011 at 03:14

orlando says:

sections show how unnecesary that skin is, the PURE volumes are cubic

# March 2, 2011 at 03:35

Germán says:

I agree with Orlando, that skin is a superfluous treatment hiding the true building’s volumetry, a sort of flamboyant costume.

# March 2, 2011 at 09:35

Yes, but a necessary one, considering that rectilinear spaces have to cohere to form the concept boulders.
Form IS a part of function! In this case, one of the Major Functions was Form!! It’s the Urban Sculpture that you seem to be missing!!!

# March 2, 2011 at 10:59

james ssena says:

man.i wanted to see some green in it,i mean plant.it looks a bit foreign to the site thou it has the concept of nature in it.otherwise it is all cool.

# March 2, 2011 at 10:39

mr T says:

the modern age has lost all meaning of traditional relationships with nature. where it actually meant something. philosophically underpinned with ideas that essentially reject traditional frames of reference, all talk of the ‘river & pepples’ seem almost profoundly ludicrous. made with tons of steel & built by big egos & costing who knows what & not remotely environmentally conscious &…etc etc. all this just so we could have an ‘urban sculpture’?

# March 2, 2011 at 14:13

MiguelArq says:

Zaha Hadid show us architecture is not only construction, is Art and thought.

# March 2, 2011 at 18:53

james says:

pictures of the actualy auditorium are breathtaking… archdaily doesn’t have them posted

# March 9, 2011 at 08:55

Ramon Perez Gatell says:

What software was used to develop the design and to draw the final construction documents?

# May 29, 2011 at 09:29

dude says:

shumacher probably designed it in rhino with sliders (the man is obsessed with parametrics), the construction drawings were produced with another BIM software probably Revit but I wouldnt bet on it, knowing these starchitects, they generally use an inhouse programs

# August 5, 2011 at 03:16

Guy says: