Shanghai Opera House, China, artist

Shanghai Opera House

Located in the People’s Square, the historic centre of the city, the Shanghai Opera House has become an emblematic building and a major cultural venue. Completed in 1998, following an international competition won by the agency in 1994, it marks an important milestone in Arte Charpentier's Chinese adventure. With a 1,800-seat auditorium, it is an opera house in the Western sense of the word, capable of hosting a classical repertoire.

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Shanghai Opera House, China, exterior

Informations

Type of project New construction
Programme Opera
Contracting authority Shanghai Municipality
Architect Arte Charpentier

Location Shanghai, China
Completion date 1998
Surface area 55 000m²
Duration of construction 4 years

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7 000
tons of steel for the structure, 1 800-seat auditorium, 600-seat theatre, 200-seat auditorium, 10 floors

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The architecture of the Shanghai Opera House incorporates strong elements of Chinese culture interpreted in a contemporary language.

Andrew Hobson, associate architect / Arte Charpentier

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Shanghai Opera House China, - 1998

Concept

Located on the People’s Square, the historic centre of Shanghai, where it adjoins the town hall and faces the Museum of Fine Arts, the Shanghai Opera House is a strong signal and major cultural venue in the city. With a 1 800-seat auditorium, it is an opera house in the Western sense of the word, capable of hosting a classical repertoire.

The architecture of the Shanghai Opera House incorporates strong elements of Chinese culture interpreted in a contemporary language. The blueprint is based on the geometry of the square, which represents the earth in Chinese symbolism, whilst the curved roof of the building is an semi-circle depicting the sky.

The Shanghai Opera House covers an area of 62 000 m² and is spread over 10 floors, including 2 basements and 2 lofts. 4 years in the making, the building is 40m high and houses 3 stages, the main 1 800-seat auditorium for ballets, operas and symphonies, a second 600-seat auditorium designed for orchestras, and a 200-seat auditorium for theatre and parades. At the heart of the opera house is a large 2 000 m² entrance hall, rehearsal rooms, a VIP room, an exhibition room, an art shop, a café-bar, a reception room and other facilities related to the proper functioning of the opera house.

At the entrance, the volume of the hall extends over the entire height of the building and the room. The glass facade has been suspended by cables to be made transparent, homogeneous and crystalline.

The scale of the Shanghai Opera House project required a search for innovative solutions and the use of the most sophisticated state-of-the-art techniques, such as the construction of suspended glass facades. The 7,000-ton steel structure, the hull of a boat built by the Shanghai shipyards and assembled on the ground, was hoisted to 40m in height by means of actuators.

Team

Contracting authority
– Contracting authority: Shanghai Municipality

Project management
– Architect: Arte Charpentier (Andrew Hobson, Isabelle Scherrer)

Design office
– Acoustics: Lamoureux Acoustics
– Lighting Philippe Almon & Associés
– Programmer: Marc Aubry, Roberto Almeida

Specificities

– Address: People’s Square, Puxi, Shanghai, China
– Completion date: 1998
– Surface area: 55 000 m²
– Photo credits: Didier Boy de la Tour

Informations

Type of project New construction
Programme Opera
Contracting authority Shanghai Municipality
Architect Arte Charpentier

Location Shanghai, China
Completion date 1998
Surface area 55 000m²
Duration of construction 4 years

Shanghai Opera House

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