This new theatre project is located in Luoyang, one of China's ancient capital cities, was a seat of power for 13 dynasties and is a saint city in respect of the historical and cultural background. It has an open interior space that can accommodate thousands of spectators. The interior design is limited by the building construction - the long and narrow arc-shaped space looks like a valley and the glass curtain wall on one side restricts the design space further. This limitation has become the biggest challenge at the beginning of the design stage. If we did not think clearly, the space might give people a sense of oppression. Since the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, the peony has been famous all over the country, and is being respected by fellow citizens. Luoyang is renowned as being ‘the city of peonies’. The elegant blooming petals remind us of the theater’s different forms of artistic performances such as dance and musicals. We think of the graceful posture of the actors and dancers on the stage, just like the appearance of a peony, so we combine them together and use peony as the inspiration. The petals of the peony in full bloom arc-shaped elements throughout the interior are actually an abstract way of resembling the - these combined with the organ pipes in various heights create the elongated organic decorative shapes throughout the space. From the moment you step into the main entrance of the theater, you can see the arc-shaped metal installations that are turned outwards, spreading out along the theater in various heights. We carefully planned the overlap portions and space between the arcs, so as to make the interior more open. We bend metals into different sections of arcs, and through the combination of various heights and arcs angles, the metal materials give people a light feeling. Visually, this method reduces the oppressive feeling brought by a complex construction otherwise. The full-height arc-shaped metal plates are fixed between the floor slabs on the 2nd and 3rd floors. They can be served as a decorative part in the space, and also as a partition between the 2nd and 3rd floors. Natural light penetrates from the glass curtain walls of the building, and the light and shadow formed by the arc shapes appear on the floors and walls of the theater. The lobby on the first floor and the entrance of the second floor are connected by a simple arc-shaped staircase, which appropriately follows the consistency of the space. Matt white is the main colour for this project. We chose this colour because the glass curtain walls on the front of the theater can transmit natural light very well. Such light changes as the sun rises and falls each day - the light shines on the curved metal plates and the shadows reflected on the ground will also change over time.Therefore, in terms of color, we chose the simplest color - white for the overall space; and the meaning of white is both classic, timeless and elegant.
Luoyang Zhengda Opera House
One Plus Partnership
Bronze

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Stephanie Ledoux
Partner
at AW²
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Talar Bardakjian
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at ODG
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Christina Wissing Oppermann
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at Brandt Collective
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Andre Flinterhoff
Cofounder
at Archicon Architectural Intelligence
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Arne Schultchen
Founder and Creative Director
at design for human nature
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Filip Janssen
Founder
at Zware Jongens
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5
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Claudio Pironi
CEO
at Claudio Pironi & Partners
5.5
6.8
5
4.5
5.45

Bart Veen
Experience Designer
at Bart.Agency
6
6.5
6
5
5.88

Peter Culley
Founder and Creative Director
at Spatial Affairs Bureau
5.67
5.95
6.17
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Salone
Founder
at Salone del Salon
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Tanya Khanna
Founder
at Epistle
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Location
Designer
Client
Chia Tai Group
Floor area
1582 ㎡
Completion
2021
Photography