The opera house has been designed to resemble two pebbles on the bank of the Pearl River. The building houses a 1,800-seat theatre with 400-seat multifunctional hall, rehearsal rooms and entrance hall.
The main auditorium is lined with moulded panels made from glass-fibre reinforced gypsum to create a folded, flowing surface. The buildings’ 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.
The 1,800-seat auditorium of the Opera House houses the latest acoustic technology. The smaller 400-seat multifunction hall is designed for performance art, opera and concerts. 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. Fold lines in this landscape define territories and zones within the Opera House, cutting 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.
