{"id":7875,"date":"2011-03-05T03:03:17","date_gmt":"2011-03-05T03:03:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-03-05T04:03:50","modified_gmt":"2011-03-05T04:03:50","slug":"Zaha-Hadid-Unveils-Her-Guangzhou-Opera-House","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=7875","title":{"rendered":"Zaha Hadid Unveils Her Guangzhou Opera House"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, who first visited China three decades ago, has traveled there regularly from her base in London in recent years to work on a number of projects and proposals. Recalling that first visit, Ms. Hadid observes, \u201cThe contrast to the Guangzhou we see today could not be greater.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most recently, she was in the southern Chinese city to officially open the Guangzhou Opera House, her first permanent building in the country. <\/strong>Nearly eight years in the making, the 1,800-seat venue dominates the riverfront of the prime Zhujiang New Town business district and makes a dramatic statement about the city\u2019s continuing evolution. \u201cIt is a very rewarding experience to see the realized design and I am grateful to the city of Guangzhou,\u201d she says \u201cThere are very few places in the world today where architects can find such forward-looking, enthusiastic clients with such passion for innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technically, the visually striking 70,000-square-meter complex was built using both cutting-edge and near-obsolete construction methods. Though finished in steel, glass and concrete, the pair of asymmetric buildings \u2014 the main structures of the opera house \u2014 are possible because of a metal skeleton requiring 59 unique, custom-cast steel joints.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a magical journey through the Guangzhou Opera House<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n