Harbin Opera House, China
The Harbin Opera House, located in the city of Harbin in the north of China, is the winner of ArchDaily's Building of the Year Awards in 2016.
The building complex, designed by MAD Architects as “Cultural Centre of the Future”, is inspired by the frozen wilderness of its surrounds and is saturated with local identity, culture, and art. The design team worked with the motto of ‘lighting the rhythm of the frozen music’. The challenge of the lighting design was in finding ways to reveal the purity and clarity of the space while enriching the visitor’s experience of both the space and the music within.
The Harbin Opera House has 80,000 m² total area under its shimmering, silvery metal skin, which evokes associations with snow cornices and icebergs. The complex, which is to be expanded to include a congress center and hotel, features opera halls for 1,600 and 400 spectators plus stages, associated spaces, and an underground parking lot. The exterior of the building was designed with 4 “dancing” ribbons and free-curved skylights.
References:
