The Guangzhou Opera House

The Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid Architects.

It is located in the center of the ‘factory of the world’, the capital of Guangdong Province (Canton) on the north bank of the Pearl River. The opera house was opened in 2010. The complex consists of several large softly shaped polyhedra, reminiscent of large boulders. The architect speaks of ‘pebbles in the river’.It is a complex structure made of steel and concrete, combined with in glass and sheet metal. With its expressive character and its spectacular architecture, the building emphasizes the city’s drive to claim global media attention. Located in the center of a business district, public spaces are placed between the different buildings. The enormous concert hall and a multifunctional hall are accessed via generous ramps and stairs.

(Source: ignant.de)

In April 2002 an international architectural competition attracted Coop Himmelb(l)au, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid - each producing detailed designs. In November 2002, Zaha Hadid's "double pebble" was announced the winner and the groundbreaking ceremony was held early in 2005.

The theatre has become the biggest performing centre in southern China and is one of the three biggest theatres in the nation alongside Beijing'sNational Grand Theatre and Shanghai's Shanghai Grand Theatre. May 2010 saw American filmmaker Shahar Stroh direct the premiere production of the opera house: Puccini's opera Turandot^[1] which had in previous years been a controversial opera in China.^[4]

The project cost 1.38 billion yuan (approx. US$200 million).

The structure was designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid; its freestanding concrete auditorium set within an audacious exposed granite and glass-clad steel frame took over five years to build, and was praised upon opening by architectural critic Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian, who called it "at once highly theatrical and insistently subtle." The dramatic structure was the source of inspiration behind fashion designer Vivienne Tam's fall '10 collection.

Source: wikipedia.org