Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre: A Box with Hollowed-Out Voids

The opera house stands in a lakeside park at the center of a new development in the outskirts of Shanghai.

Five hollow cylinders have been inserted into the simple glass-covered box, which rises to a height of 30 meters from its 100-meter by 100-meter square footprint. The five tubes are referred to as the “lobby tube”, “foyer tube”, “connecting tube”, “roof amphitheater tube”, and “ground amphitheater tube”, and they have each been given a different character and function.

The cross-sections of the tubes emerge on the façade and give the building its distinctive look. Ando realized a dynamic and magnificent design fitting for an opera house through combining simple geometries rather than relying on flashy forms and ornamentation.

The five tubes that intersect within the building create a three-dimensional network of fluid, organic spaces that accommodate the activities of its users. The double-layer exterior wall of concrete and glass enhances the building’s environmental performance while also endowing the massive box with a sense of lightness and transparency.

The approach through the tube leading into the opera house from the stepped plaza at the south end of the site. It intersects with the horizontally oriented tube that forms the foyer on the other side of the building.

The foyer of the main theatre is located in an enormous 18-meter-wide tube that pierces through the building. The dynamic space and the open vistas to the outside make for an enlivening experience.

The five-story-tall entrance atrium created by the 30-meter-wide lobby tube. The entry point to the main theatre is located in the notch created by the intersecting foyer tube.

Architecture and nature are brought into a harmonious ensemble as sunlight streams in through the four condensed roof openings to create an ever-changing space.

The 1,600-seat main theatre feels appropriately glamorous and also cozy with its abundant use of natural wood. An arc motif was applied throughout the theatre based on acoustic considerations. The wood surfaces have been treated to withstand fire. The randomly positioned grooves that serve to enhance sound diffusion create fine shadows on the walls.

The lakeside terrace created by the two intersecting tubes has a distinctive shape. The gently curved ceiling surfaces finished with woodtone ribs bring to mind the eaves of traditional wooden architecture as well as a cave.

People freely spend their time conversing and relaxing in the open outdoor spaces generated by the tubes.

One of the open spaces created in the tubular voids is designed as an amphitheater with a stage that juts out into the water. The space is used not only for open-air performances but also for recreation by people who have come to enjoy the lakeside scenery.