generative & Parametric Guanzhou Opera House Located down stream of Pearl River, the Guangzhou Opera House with it tantalising contours will resonate the high notes of Chinese Opera, in harmony with the tenor of its western brother. It will stand alongside its global family as a testament to state of the art architecture, and as a lasting monument to the New Millennium. Its unique twin boulder design will enhance urban function with open access to the riverside and dock areas and at the same time will create a new dialogue with the emerging new town. It is from here we hope to see the story of the Guangzhou city continue in its evolutionary journey.
Pros & Cons The ability to create a “WOW� project is not hard for parametric design, however, to make the project to satisfy the real life constructionability is difficult. Parametric design extend the possibility of creativity, it generates surprising design that is in free form. The hardest part of any parametric design is fabrication and construction. Any parametric form should be able to be constructed - that is to have a feasible structure and materials that can fabricate the form.
Like its cousin Hong Kong, Guangzhou has often been unfairly dubbed a “cultural desert,” populated and run by those interested only in making money. The Guangzhou Opera House, which will eventually be joined by a new museum next door, is intended to combat that image with what Hadid Architects describes as a “lasting monument to the New Millennium, confirming Guangzhou as one of Asia’s cultural centers.”
Fashion & ARCHITECTURE
VIVIAN TAM’S DESIGN 2012
The opera house, which boasts an 1,800-seat theater and a “twin bolder” design that gives access to both the Pearl River and its docks, features an exposed granite and glass-clad steel frame and took over five years to build. Finally opening last month, it has already won a place in popular culture, inspiring the fall 2011 collection of local fashion favorite Vivienne Tam.
Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou Zaha Hadid Architects Estimated cost: 1 billion RMB ($152 million) zaha-hadid.com
VIVIAN TAM’S DESIGN 2011 FALL
TECHNOLOGY & CULTURE 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 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.
CONSTRUCTION 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.