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March 5, 2011
Well, Zaha Hadid's new Guangzhou Opera house is an architectural step on from Utzon's Sydney Opera House.
This is a zig-zag staircase reaching theatrically from the main foyers to the three upper tiers of the auditorium
Dan Chung, Guangzhou Opera House, 2011
The Sydney Opera House was the 20th century--one of the great designs and iconic buildings of that century. The Guangzhou Opera House is an expression of the 21st century. Shaped to resemble two boulders on the bank of the Pearl River in Guangzhou this amorphous yet geometric structure includes a 1,800 seat theater and a 400-seat hall as well as rehearsal space and an entrance hall.
The 70,000 sqm project consists of two solid geometric forms wrapped with a structural exoskeleton. The two components, with their similar form, color and shared structural expression, create a strong artistic expression to house the cultural center. Hadid’s angular exterior intentions are carried through the interiors, shaping dynamic gathering spaces and interstitial spaces.
The opera house has two venues, one in each boulder. The larger black granite boulder contains a 1,800-seat grand theatre, while the white granite of the smaller element (set as a rainscreen above a proprietary standing seam roof) envelops a 400-seat multipurpose hall
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