National Centre for Performing Arts
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (National Grand Theatre), and colloquially described as The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The centre seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu, with the inaugural concert being held in December 2007.
Location
The location, immediately to the west of Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, and near the Forbidden City, combined with the theatre's futuristic design, created considerable controversy. Paul Andreu countered that although there is indeed value in ancient traditional Chinese architecture, Beijing must also include modern architecture, as the capital of the country and an international city of great importance. His design, with large open space, water, and trees, was specially designed to complement the red walls of ancient buildings and the Great Hall of the People, in order to melt into the surroundings as opposed to standing out against them.
The exterior of the theater is a titanium accented glass dome that is completely surrounded by a man-made lake. It is said to look like an egg floating on water. It was designed as an iconic feature, something that would be immediately recognisable, like the Sydney Opera House.
Cost
The initial planned cost of the theatre was 2.688 billion Renminbi(US$ 439 million) .However when the construction was completed, the total cost rose to more than double the initial cost. The major cause of the cost increase was a delay in re-evaluation and subsequent minor changes as a precaution after a Paris airport terminal building collapsed. The cost has been a major source of controversy because many believed that it is nearly impossible to recover the investment. The Chinese government answered that the theater was a non- profit venture.
Structure
The dome measures 212 meters in east-west direction, 144 meters in north-south direction, and is 46 meters high. The main entrance is at the north side. Guests arrive in the building after walking through a hallway that goes underneath the lake. The titanium shell is broken by a glass curtain in north-south direction that gradually widens from top to bottom.
Structure of the Shell
The shell is formed of 148 steel beams of Virendeel type, set at the bottom into a concrete ring and fixed at the top on a steel ring 1,460 mm in diameter. The beams radiate from a central point and are spaced 3.87 m apart at the bottom and one meter apart at the top. Due to the form of the building, their structural height varies between 2.43 and 3.80 at the bottom and between 1.46 and 1.68 m at the top.
These beams are joined horizontally by 40 levels of secondary steel tubes 194 mm in diameter and 5 mm thick. They are spaced approximately every 2 m. The whole structure is braced by diagonal elements in ten spans. The four braced zones are situated at the edges of the opaque areas.
Performance and Other Venues
Internally, there are three major performance halls:
- The Opera Hall
- The Music Hall
- The Theater Hall
Is used for operas, ballet, and dances. It has a total of 2,416 seats. The theater contains a main stage, which is equipped with various machines for pushing, pulling, lifting, and lowering set pieces and stage equipment; an adjustable ballet bedplate; and an orchestra pit which has a capacity of three orchestral bands. The Opera House has conformed to the theater standard for its acoustic reverberation time of 1.6 seconds. It sets an example for the perfect combination of architectural acoustics and theatrical aesthetics.
Solemnness and elegance are the main themes of this hall. The main music genres presented here are orchestral pieces, symphonic pieces, and traditional Chinese music. It has 2,013 seats. The performance stage is surrounded by the auditorium, which houses 1,861 seats. The organ in the Concert Hall is the largest one in China, has the most pipes and stops and produces the optimum sound colors. It conforms best to the style of the Concert Hall.The interior walls of the Concert Hall are surfaced with acoustic wall panels on which special technology of MLS (Magnetic Liquid Suspension) diffuser has been used to reflect, diffuse, and improve the sound so that audience members from every corner of the hall can enjoy a quality performance.
The theatre, with its silk wallpaper creating a conventional joyful atmosphere, is mainly used for performing plays, local operas, and folk music programs, it has 1,044 seats. The drummer-style revolver, located on the main stage, allows for simultaneous revolving and ascending or descending movement. The stage apron has a unique design very suitable for the traditional China Opera performance.
Conclusion
The completion of China's National Centre for the Performing Arts is a historic accomplishment demonstrating the country's strengths and marking a new chapter in the country's development. As the foremost national performing arts institution, the Centre is made possible by the solid support and guidance from both Central and Beijing municipal governments.
Following the mandate of “For the People, For the Arts, For the World”, the Centre is devoted to becoming the national epicenter for the performing arts, a grand platform for international cultural exchanges and a vanguard of arts education as well as an important foundation for the creative cultural scene in China.
The project has its complete and distinguishing architectural language: on one hand it uses curve lines to portrait an unlimited space beyond the building itself; on the other hand, it uses traditional Chinese royal red and golden colors to enhance the Chinese features.
In Addition to the three main functional houses and the experimental theatre, there are a couple of areas that provide public services like an exhibition zone, library, pressroom, petal-shaped balcony, souvenir shop, and a cafe. Visitors may spend a leisure time there and enjoy a milieu of the arts.
Project Team
Architect:
Paul Andreu, associated with ADPi and BIAD
Project Managers:
François Tamisier / Felipe Starling
Client:
The Grand National Theatre Committee
BET Structure and technical lots: Setec
Structural framework: Adpi and Setec TPi
Acoustics:
Mr. Vian (CSTB)
Sceneography:
Mr. Rioualec
Artistic adviser:
Ms Ruling Zhang Blein
Photographer:
Paul Maurer
