Zhengzhou Grand Theater, China
Chinese firm ADRI has completed a theatre in Henan Province with a metal-clad exterior. Zhengzhou Grand Theatre takes a 'boat of art sailing on the Yellow River' as the design concept. Externally, these ship-like forms intersect with one another, with the points where they meet becoming large, sheltered entrances into the foyers accessed by concrete steps. The project is a long-span building, with a length of 204m. Based on the characteristics of the architectural form, the exterior structure adopts steel trusses, and the roof is formed by grid structures, supported by three tower-like concrete bottom structures, together creating a new, distinctive mixed structural system.
The Zhengzhou Grand Theatre contains a 1,687-seat theatre, 884-seat concert hall and an opera rehearsal hall, alongside a multifunctional hall and rehearsal spaces. Treated as distinct forms within the building, these venues are all united by the foyer and circulation spaces designed with flowing forms that reference the nearby Yellow River.
Clad in aluminum panels, the facades are cut by large, full-height areas of glazing providing views back out to the city. The modular panels create a curvy form that emulates the irregular flow of the Yellow River. When night falls, the bright lighting indoors penetrates the large glass curtain wall, and the "sails" transform into a giant curtain.
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