Guangzhou Opera House is a recently completed building by Zaha Hadid Architects, located in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and completed in 2010. The building's extreme geometry and spectacular interior have brought about international awareness and appreciation of its design. Following are two articles that examine and critique the building. One is "L'auditorium asimmetrico (Asymmetrical Auditorium)" from the architecture journal "Abitare." The other article is "Crazy Angles, Soaring Steel" by Thomas Lane from the architecture journal "Building." "L'auditorium asimmetrico" from the architecture journal "Abitare" briefly summarizes the Opera House as Hadid's first building that has been attended by a high-level British diplomatic delegation at the opening ceremony. The unusual significance of this building hints at its extraordinary structure and form. The design has been made up of two buildings sitting on a promenade facing the Pearl River, symbolizing the idea of geological crystallization of two pebbles from the river. The main building includes the auditorium and administration space, while the smaller building serves various functions, opening up the space to a wider range of audience. The smaller building floats on the mirror pool, reinforcing the idea of the architecture being part of the cityscape as the water reflects the surrounding skyscrapers, literally blending the design into the city skyline....
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...The acoustic performance of the auditorium is fairly balanced and in good clarity, exceeding the standard of ordinary auditoriums, in the meanwhile rearticulating the organic forms of the design on a holistic scale. In conclusion, Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid is no doubt an ambitious masterpiece of the 21st Century modernism of architecture. Being perfect in both aesthetics and function, the maestro has conducted a grand symphony of an architectural fantasy through the Opera House, which inspires new possibilities for the architecture of the future age. Works Cited Journal articles: • Lane, Thomas. “Crazy Angles, Soaring Steel.” Building vol. 274 no. 8588 (28) 2009, July 17, pp. 40-46. • Unknown, “L’auditorium Asimmetrico.” Abitare, Apr 2011, Issue 511, pp. 192-201. • Kaltenbach, Frank, “A Phantom of the Opera, Zaha Hadid’s Guangzhou Opera House.” Detail, Mar/Apr 2011, vol.
...ral (138 ½ feet), Michelangelo’s St. Peter’s (137 ½) and Wren’s St. Paul’s (109 feet). Until steel and concrete technology advanced in the 19th century, no single spaces were larger than these. Bibliography Dirimtekin, Feridun. [1964]. Saint Sophia Museum. Istanbul: Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey. Fossati, Gaspare. 1852. Aya Sofia, Constantinople : as recently restored by order of H. M. the sultan Abdul-Medjid. London: R. & C. Colnagni & Co. James Stevens Curl. Classical Architecture: an introduction to its vocabulary and essentials, with a select glossary of terms. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. ISBN 0-442-30896-5. NA260.C87. interior photo of circular space (photo of the prostyle octstyle portico of the Pantheon) William L. MacDonald. The Architecture of the Roman Empire I. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-300-02818-0. LC 81-16513
As an Ancient Greek, one could expect to spend a fair amount of time in theatres for social and religious reasons. Thus, the design and construction of auditoriums was vital to the comfort and experience of viewers.
With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.
Peking Opera is said to be a live “encyclopedia of Chinese Culture” (Wertz). Because of this, and many other highly regarded qualities, China has made the Peking opera its “national opera” (Wertz). The Beijing Opera is such an important part of Chinese culture that “Beijing Opera Month” has been declared (Wertz).
There is a Romanesque style in the arched windows and the brick walls. The Beaux-Arts tradition is a T-shaped floor plan. The building measures 75 feet in diameter with three wings. The Rotunda’s walls are made of Italian marble and the floors have mosaic tile. The statue in the center of the floor is called “Three Muses.”
Ancient Greece was a thriving Greek civilization that lasted from the archaic period to the end of the antiquity era. The ancient Greek culture was a technologically advanced civilization who laid the foundation for many of our modern day cultural traditions. One tradition that is still very prominent in our culture is theatre. The ancient Greek’s have been considered the pioneers of theatre, and are known to have introduced the first actor, the tragedy genre, and most impressively theatre architecture. The Greeks built massive amphitheatres to house thousands upon thousands of spectators for a theatrical performance; many of those ancient Greek amphitheatres are still in existence. The theater architectural designs of the ancient Greeks have been adapted and modified throughout the years by numerous other cultures. The Romans in particular are known to have been inspired by ancient Greek theater architecture and transformed it into a new and improved theater that met the needs of the changing and modernizing times of theatre. By examining ancient Greek architecture and acoustic technology, it will be examined how the architectural designs of ancient Greek theatre still has a prominent place in our modern day culture.
In order to create innovative public architecture, considered to be the most civic, costly, time intensive and physical of the arts, the project holds a degree of risk, strife, and negotiation . Overcoming these tasks and creating worthy public architecture is a challenge designers try to accomplish, but are rarely successful. The people involved in a potential public building, can be larger than the building itself. Public architecture tries to please all, even the doubters and critics, but because of the all these factors, a building is closer to failing than succeeding.
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
There are parts of the walls that seem to be missing, which creates a flow between the two main spaces. The pavilion’s thin, sweeping roof is supported by eight cruciform columns clad in chrome. This created an open and free space where he lined the outside of the building with glass. He then carefully placed a thin slab of onyx in the middle of the open volume. Mies created established characteristics that became essential for modern architecture.
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
A Roman architect named Marcus Pollio, who lived in the first century BC, was the first to study the acoustics of buildings. “He made some pertinent observations on the subject and some astute guesses concerning reverberation and interference”(Encarta). Reverberation and interference are two of the more important aspects of acoustical architecture. Both deal with the sound waves music or instruments make. By understanding reverberation, which is the echoing of sound waves, early architects could better construct buildings and auditoriums that would produce better acoustics. An architect has two types of material he can use to modify a building to deal with reverberation and the quality of sound. In many buildings such as meeting halls and auditoriums where echoes are not wanted, absorption materials such as cork and felt are used to absorb reverberations. On the other hand, in buildings such as concert halls and opera houses where reverberation is important reflecting material is used. Materials such as metal and most stones can be use to reflect sound waves to the audience. With these materials an architect can modify the way sound travels in his building.
Many cultural enthusiasts, archaeologists, and architects have a common interest in theatre and its origins. People from a few decades back have located the remaining of the oldest theatres in Greece, England, France and some parts of minor Asia. Theatre was a part of people’s lives as it was one of the few sources of entertainment, and it was originated from when people collectively sit in a gathering and listen to a storyteller. There were performances done by different people present at that moment. Later on, this activity kept improving and innovating, and in the result, many theaters for entertaining purposes were built by emperors who ruled the countries or kingdom in those days. The design of these theatres
Jencks believes “the glass-and-steel box has become the single most used form in Modern Architecture and it signifies throughout the world ‘office building’” (27). Thus, modern architecture is univalent in terms of form, in other words it is designed around one out of a few basic values using a limited number of materials and right angles. In...
Wide stone stairways and a diagonal slicing wall disappear beneath the surrounding rocks, creating a dramatic path to the rooftop terrace in the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum. Ando defines architecture as “the box that provokes.” He says, “I do not believe architecture should speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind speak.” His gift is to create spaces that respond to human needs and spirit, juxtaposing powerful concrete walls with light and nature to create a deep sense of peace. Using simple materials and geometry, Ando has produced a volume of exquisite
Chinese Opera is one of the “three oldest dramatic art forms in the world” (travelchinaguide), along with “Greece tragic-comedy and Indian Sanskrit” (travelchinaguide). From Chinese Opera comes many forms of opera, over 300 types (travelchinaguide), but the most well know would be the Peking Opera. The Peking Opera is known by many names, like “Eastern Opera” (ebeijing), and “jingqiang” (Xu), but the most common name in the Western world is the “Beijing Opera” (Wertz).