Hainan Performing Arts Centre, Southern China Building Development, Architecture Competition, New Chinese Design
Hainan Performing Arts Centre in Southern China
11 Apr 2022
Architecture: Heatherwick Studio
Location: Hainan, Southern China

Images: Devisual
Hainan Performing Arts Centre
Heatherwick Studio wins competition to design Hainan Performing Arts Centre

Heatherwick Studio will design a tropical opera house for the island province of Hainan at the southernmost point of China.

The competition, organised by Haikou Tourism & Culture Investment Holding Group, called for a new cultural landmark with a top-tier performing arts centre. Heatherwick?s response provides three performance spaces – an opera house, a concert hall and a theatre – that come together as a focal point for the new Jiangdong cultural quarter just east of the historic city centre. ?Our inspiration came from the volcanic landscape and the costumes, colours and movement of Hainanese Opera,?, said Eliot Postma, Partner and Group Leader at Heatherwick Studio.
?Many opera houses are cut off from their surroundings and only come to life when a performance is on. We wanted to create a space that is an extension of the city and will contribute to life on the street throughout the day.
?So the canopy shelters a mix of different spaces that form an open-air village, of which the halls are a part. It blends the formality of performance with the informality of island culture, making opera more a...