Wuxi Grand Theatre

Eight huge wings resembling a cluster of duck feet form the roof of this theatre in Wuxi, to the west of Shanghai, designed by Finnish practice PES-Architects .

Wuxi Grand Theatre is situated on a manmade peninsula on Taihu Lake. The perforated aluminium panels on the roof are lit up by thousands of colour-changing LEDs. Glowing columns are dotted around the main entrance square and continue inside the building where they support the roof of the central lobby. The main auditorium is covered with 15,000 solid bamboo blocks designed to enhance the acoustics of the space. Around 20,000 custom-made glass bricks cover the curved wall of the auditorium in the lobby area overlooking the lake. “Finnish nature, lakes and ice” were the inspiration behind this part of the building, say the architects. The theatre has been shortlisted for an award at this year’s World Architecture Festival, which takes place from 3-5 October.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Wuxi Grand Theatre

In 2008, PES-Architects won the first prize in the invited international architectural competition for Wuxi Grand Theatre. The other competitors were established and well-known practices from Germany, France, Japan and Denmark. The main idea of Wuxi Grand Theatre is based on its location. The manmade peninsula on the northern shore area of Taihu Lake and the highway bridge nearby make this location comparable to that of Sydney Opera House.

Due to this location the building is an impressive landmark, rising up to a total height of 50 meters like a big sculpture from the terraced base. Its eight gigantic roof wings stretch far over the facades, giving the building a character of a butterfly, while protecting the building from the heat of the sun. The architectural concept is unique: inside the steel wings are thousands of LED lights, which make it possible to change the colour of the wings according to the character of the performances. This is possible, because the underside of the wings is covered by perforated aluminium panels.

Another special feature is the “forest” of 50 light columns, each 9 metres high, which start from the main entrance square, support the roof of the central lobby and continue outside of the lakeside entrance into the lake. There is a strong Chinese feature that runs throughout the whole building: the large scale use of bamboo which is both a traditional and a modern Chinese material.

Recently new methods for the production and use of bamboo have made it possible to cover the Main Opera Auditorium with over 15,000 solid bamboo blocks, all individually shaped according to acoustic needs and architectural image. There is also a material with a Finnish character: almost 20,000 specially designed glass bricks cover the curved wall of the opera auditorium in the lakeside lobby. Finnish nature, lakes and ice were the architectural inspiration.

Architecture and interior design: PES-Architects
Project: Wuxi Grand Theatre
Address: to the North of Jinshi Road, North bank of Lake Li, Taihu New City, Wuxi, P.R.China
Client: Office for the Important Urban Projects in Wuxi /Fan Chun Yu, Zhou Jian
User: Wuxi Culture and Art Administration Center
Floor area: 78 000 m2
Year of completion: 2012
Start of design: 2008
Competition: June 2008