West Bund Grand Theatre celebrates Shanghai's industrial past
Architecture studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen has completed West Bund Grand Theatre in Shanghai, which pays homage to the movement of the Huangpu River and the site's industrial past. Located on the banks of the Huangpu River south of the city centre, the theatre aims to establish a new cultural landmark for the West Bund development, The post West Bund Grand Theatre celebrates Shanghai's industrial past appeared first on Dezeen.
Architecture studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen has completed West Bund Grand Theatre in Shanghai, which pays homage to the movement of the Huangpu River and the site's industrial past.
Located on the banks of the Huangpu River south of the city centre, the theatre aims to establish a new cultural landmark for the West Bund development, a rapidly developing arts, culture, and commercial district in Shanghai.
The theatre sits next to the West Bund Dome, a performing arts and sports venue also designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen that opened last year.
West Bund Grand Theatre was conceived to form a yin-yang interaction with its neighbour.
The theatre has a sculptural, monolithic form that is contrasted by the translucent West Bund Dome, which was adapted from an old cement factory.
The use of concrete as the main material of the theatre also responds to this industrial history.
Six concave surfaces form the facade of the West Bund Grand Theatre, in direct response to the form of the dome. The design was also intended to make every side of the theatre look like the front of the building.
The theatre's facade was decorated with glass-fibre reinforced concrete, arranged in a series of horizontal forms intended to mimic the constant movement of the Huang Pu River.
A new public plaza to the south will support an ongoing rotation of pop-up shops and events.
"Having a location right on the riverfront is extremely privileged," Schmidt Hammer Lassen partner Chris Hardie said.
"From there, you become acutely aware of how busy the river is. It is never still, always moving, slowly carrying boats that are of a similar scale to the Grand Theatre building," he continued.
"When you walk toward the river, the image of the water is powerful. We wanted the West Bund Grand Theatre to represent this."
The theatre has a lobby, a 1,600-seat main auditorium, a 200-seat black-box theatre for experimental performances and a series of rehearsal rooms.
Inside, the lobby features ceramic panels in four gold and bronze tones and a mix of matt and glazed finishes, designed to evoke the striations of a rock or aggregate in another nod to the site's cement-making history.
A gold mirror on the ceiling reflects the entire lobby, which was acoustically designed to be able to hold musical and theatrical performances on its own.
Three main levels surround the main auditorium at the centre of the building.
The black-box theatre and rehearsal rooms are housed on the third floor, which also has an outdoor terrace, offering views across the river and toward the rest of the West Bund district.
A series of expansive windows and a roof terrace further add to the public nature of the building.
Schmidt Hammer Lassen was founded in 1986, and today operates as the Danish branch of global design firm Perkins&Wills.
Other projects by the studio in China include an art centre in Beijing that references the shape of a granary and China's largest library, which features a marble-printed glass facade.
The photography is by RawVision.
Project credits:
Gross built area: 23,177m2
Principal in charge: Chris Hardie
Project director: Chao Chen
Project architect: Mai Zhang
Design team: Jing Lin, Bozhena Hoida, Xiao Sun, Tianda Ge, Yiwen He, Puze Huang, Juno Li, Yuqian Lu, Puchun Zhang, Joey Zhang, Jingjing Zhang, Fangzhou Zhu, Sebastian Correa, Jiaai He, Steven Morton, Rasmus Duong-Grunnet, Maria Vlagoidou, Tasha Ye Feng
Local architect: Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research, Shanghai Xiandai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute Co., Ltd
Landscape: Field Operations, Shanghai TIANHUA Architecture Planning & Engineering Ltd
Theatre consultant: Theatre Projects
Acoustic consultant: ECADI
Facade consultant: ECO face Group
Facade lighting: Shanghai Funshine 632 Culture Technology Co., Ltd
Contractor: Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), Shanghai Building Decoration Engineering Group
The post West Bund Grand Theatre celebrates Shanghai's industrial past appeared first on Dezeen.
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