Tianjin Grand Theater, China

Object Type
Concert Halls
Theatres

Client
Tianjin Municipal People´s Government, Tianjin

Architects
gmp Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, Hamburg/Berlin

Completion
2012

Expertises
Room Acoustics
Building Acoustics

Tianjin, the center of one of China`s most impoortant industrial belts, now has a new cultural complex consisting of various cultural buildings. International architects from Germany, Japan and the United States of America contributed their respective designs for the new museum buildings as well as congress and conference buildings. The new Tianjin Grand Theater, designed by gmp Architekten, forms the centerpiece of this new cultural complex. Its opera hall seats 1,600, the concert hall 1,200 and the spacious multi-purpose hall 400. The three halls are separate buildings arranged on a platform accessible via outdoor staircases. The roof connecting all buildings opens like a shell, thus granting visitors a view of the adjoining lake and cultural park.

The opera hall seating 1,600 with its three balconies covering the lateral walls as well as the rear wall is inspired by the tradi-tional horse-shoe shape. However, it has been interpreted in an en-tirely new way by gmp Architekten, resulting in a perfect sound trans-mission and excellent sightlines for all audience seats. In contrast to the rectangular shape very common in China to date, the concert hall has been designed as a modern venue with a central podium, follo-wing the example of the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall. Designing the hall with separate audience areas and raked seating around the podium provides new and varied acoustic experiences. In addition, the complex wall structuring ensures an increased sound diffusion and brilliance in the spacious concert hall.

Image Copyright
1 Christian Gahl
2 Christian Gahl
3 Christian Gahl