gmp architekten: grand theater, tianjin

‘grand theater’ by gmp architekten, tianjin, china image © christian gahl all images courtesy of gmp architekten

german practice gmp architekten have completed the ‘grand theater’ situated within the culture park of tianjin in china. introducing the philosophical thinking about the earth and sky with a half-circular roof which floats above the grounds and responds to its neighbor, the museum of natural history. spanning the width of the lake, the form opens to the sea like a seashell. comprised of multiple eaves and many horizontal layers, the canopy becomes a unified entity, reading separately from the building and its base. resting above the stone podium, the opera hall, concert hall and small multifunctional hall each are exposed to overlook  the water, like pearls inside a shell.

the raised plaza creates a stage for the activity which takes place within the park setting. vehicular access is limited to the northern and southern edges of the site while bus stops are positioned to the east. internal circulation occurs within the base.

bird’s view image © christian gahl

horizontal layers form an architectural unit including the roof, facades and stone base image © christian gahl

the grand theater roof floats above the raised podium level image © christian gahl

foyer of the opera theater image © christian gahl

the opera theater image © christian gahl

concert hall image © christian gahl

site plan image © gmp

floor plan / podium level image © gmp

section image © gmp

project info:

competition: 2009 – 1st prize design: meinhard von gerkan and stephan schütz with nicolas pomränke project leaders: david schenke, xu shan design team: tobias keyl, matthias grünewald, martin gänsicke, susan schwarz, verena fischbach, bin zhou, jan demel, thilo zehme, duc nguyen, di wu, fang xie project team: tobias keyl, martin gänsicke, annette löber, plamen stamatov, sebastian brecht, huan zhu, carina slowak, ting zhang, johannes erdmann, michael tümmers, lu han, di wu, fang xie, zheng wang, bin zhou, jan demel, thilo zehme structural engineers: schlaich bergermann und partner light planning: conceptlicht stage technology: kunkel consulting chinese partner practice: ECADI client: tianjin culture centre project and construction head office gross floor area: 85,000 m2 opera hall: 1600 seats concert hall: 1200 seats small multifunctional hall: 400 seats construction period 2010–2012