Heatherwick Studio to Design Hainan Performing Arts Centre in China

Heatherwick Studio to Design Hainan Performing Arts Centre in China

Heatherwick Studio has been selected to design a tropical opera house for the island province of Hainan at the southernmost point of China, the studio’s first opera house or music venue project. The design features three performance spaces: an opera house, a concert hall, and a theatre, that come together under a sweeping canopy referencing to the island’s unique geology.

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The inspiration behind the design came from the volcanic landscape and the costumes, colours, and movement of Hainanese Opera. The structure was developed through intensive analysis and physical and immersive digital modelling, creating an architecture that responds to the local ecology and climate, and reduces energy consumption and costs while cooling the environment for visitors and performers.

The center will have capacity for approximately 3,800 people, combining spaces for arts, learning, rehearsals and performances. The venue will offer visitors a range of large-scale opera, ballet, and musicals to avant-garde drama, fashion, and immersive multimedia performances.

Many opera houses are cut off from their surroundings and only come to life when a performance is on. We wanted to create a space that is an extension of the city and will contribute to life on the street throughout the day. So the canopy shelters a mix of different spaces that form an open-air village, of which the halls are a part. It blends the formality of performance with the informality of island culture, making opera more accessible and offering everyone a space to meet whether you have a ticket or not. — Eliot Postma, Partner and Group Leader at Heatherwick Studio

The design is a competition entry organized by Haikou Tourism & Culture Investment Holding Group. Construction of the main building is scheduled to begin towards the end of 2022. 

Earlier this year, Heatherwick Studio proposed Leaf, a dynamic multi-leveled pier that promotes notions of “community spirit, activity, equality, play, and togetherness”. The project will feature plant-covered platforms built on the Han River, and will offer visitors recreational and cultural spaces across a floating platform.