Architettura

Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid

Location: Guangzhou, China
Date: 2003 / 2010
Client: Guangzhou Municipal Government
Status: Built
Size: 70,000 m˛

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 fi nance in Guangzhou’s Zhujiang new town.

Photography by Christian Richters

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 infl uenced 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-fi bre reinforced gypsum (GFRC) units have been used for the interior of the auditorium to continue the architectural language of fl uidity 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.


Design
Zaha Hadid

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 Jian

Competition Team
1st Stage:
Filippo Innocenti
Matias Musacchio
Jenny Huang
Hon Kong Chee
Markus Planteu
Paola Cattarin
Tamar Jacobs
Yael Brosilovski
Viggo Haremst
Christian Ludwig
Christina Beaumont
Lorenzo Grifantini
Flavio La Gioia
Nina Safainia
Fernando Vera
Martin Henn
Achim Gergen
Graham Modlen
Imran Mahmood
2nd Stage:
Cyril Shing
YanSong Ma
Yosuke Hayano
Adriano De Gioannis
Barbara Pfenningstorff

Local Design Institute
Guangzhou Pearl River
Foreign Investment
Architectural Designing
Institute (Guangzhou,
China)

Structural Engineers
SHTK (Shanghai, China)
Guangzhou Pearl River
Foreign Investment
Architectural Designing
Institute

Facade Engineering
KGE Engineering (Zhuhai, China)

Building Services
Guangzhou Pearl River
Foreign Investment
Architectural Designing
Institute (Guangzhou,
China)

Acoustic Consultants
Marshall Day Acoustics
(Melbourne, Australia)

Theatre Consultant
ENFI (Beijing, China)

Lighting Design
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)

Cost Consultant
Guangzhou Jiancheng
Engineering Costing
Consultant Offi ce Ltd.
(Guangzhou, China)

Principal Contractor
China Construction
Third Engineering Bureau
Co. Ltd. (Guangdong, China)