© Hufton+Crow
Harbin, China’s northernmost city with more than a million inhabitants, is known for its long, hard winters. The new opera house there, set on an island in the river some 5 km from the city centre, resembles a gigantic snow cornice.
The new structure, rising 56 m above the flat landscape, has a floor area of nearly 80,000 m2 and houses two auditoriums – one for an audience of 1,600, the other for 400 people. These facilities are divided between two building volumes set at right angles to each other and sharing an extensive forecourt that is situated above the main access route and the parking area. The larger house also has a generously dimensioned roof terrace. To the west, the forecourt is enclosed by a wall that screens it from the wind and that terminates in a small box office.
The new structure, rising 56 m above the flat landscape, has a floor area of nearly 80,000 m2 and houses two auditoriums – one for an audience of 1,600, the other for 400 people. These facilities are divided between two building volumes set at right angles to each other and sharing an extensive forecourt that is situated above the main access route and the parking area. The larger house also has a generously dimensioned roof terrace. To the west, the forecourt is enclosed by a wall that screens it from the wind and that terminates in a small box office.