National Grand Theater
The National Grand Theatre of China in Beijing by architect Paul Andreu is one of the most talked-about architectural projects for years, both because of Andreu's audacious and innovative design, and for the grand scope of the project itself; the Theatre will be Beijing's foremost cultural center, situated in the heart of the capital, symbolizing all that is exciting about the new China. It will be, in the architect's words: "A new district of spectacles and dreams open to one and all."
The Theatre is a curved building emerges like an island at the center of a lake. The titanium shell is in the shape of a super ellipsoid. The building houses three performance auditoria - a 2,416-seat opera house; a 2,017-seat concert hall and a 1,040-seat theatre - as well as art and exhibition spaces open to a wide public and integrated into the life of the city.
