Legendary architect designs new Hanoi Opera

Renzo Piano, one of the architectural legends of the 20th century creating dozens of iconic works in many countries around the globe has designed the second Hanoi Opera House, which is expected a landmark in the capital city.

World-famous architect’s flagship project in Vietnam

Italian architect Renzo Piano. File photo

According to the Tay Ho District People's Committee, the New Hanoi Opera Theater will be built on an area of more than 44 hectares in the Quang An and Tu Lien wards of Tay Ho District. Set in the middle of Dam Tri Lake, adjacent to West Lake, the theater will become a prominent cultural landmark to lure foreign visitors to Hanoi.

The new Hanoi Opera is eagerly anticipated by architect Renzo Piano, Hanoi residents, and tourists alike.

In more than six decades of creative work, architect Renzo Piano has achieved many great successes, leaving impressions on architectural works namely the Shard in London (UK), the New York Times Building in New York City (USA), among others.

3D rendering of the new opera house project in Hanoi.

Project of New Hanoi Opera Theater started

Renzo Piano is known for his talent, but he is also respected for his humanitarian philosophy, his strong feelings for nature, culture, history and people. The architect hoped to express his love for Hanoi through a building with modern technology and a special structure never seen before in the world: a new Hanoi Opera House.

The theater will be built on the Quang An Peninsula, Tay Ho District, with an area of more than 25,000 sqm and a total floor area of 42,000 sqm. It will serve as a venue for performing arts as well as cultural and political events of Hanoi. It will also include a thematic cultural and art park, a religious building, a recreational area, and hotel and commercial services.

The design of the New Hanoi Opera Theatre features a striking dome inspired by the undulating waves of the West Lake.

In particular, Piano's design features a shell roof structure that is only 200-600 mm thick. To illustrate, if the theater were the size of an egg, the roof would be even thinner than the... eggshell! The shell roof is also accompanied by an additional non-load bearing layer with special soundproofing capabilities. He first conceived of this extremely sophisticated, ultra-thin structure 40 years ago, at a time when construction techniques were unable to meet this particular requirement.

This roof design will not only create a unique, elegant appearance for the theater, allowing natural ventilation in the lobbies, eliminating the need for air conditioning, but will also facilitate audio filtering during musical performances - one of the primary requirements for world-class theaters. In particular, the surface of the dome is covered with a pearlescent ceramic layer to reflect different shades of sky and water, especially at dawn, dusk, or at night with shimmering electric lights.

In addition, the new theater project of the capital also applies many advanced technologies and design techniques. The entire walls of the main auditorium will be equipped with a system of mechanically operated acoustic panels. For each different type of performance, the panels will be controlled to move in different directions, ensuring appropriate sound reflection, sound absorption and reverberation time. This is an unprecedented system in Vietnam, and not many theaters in the world have it.

In addition to its unique roof, the Hanoi Opera House incorporates cutting-edge technologies and design innovations.

Piano also meticulously designed and studied the theater's main functional spaces to ensure that the main auditorium, the opera house, the multipurpose auditorium, and the auxiliary areas were all optimally connected. In addition, he proposed that the surrounding area be transformed into a green park so that the theater could serve as a place for locals to enjoy the arts and the outdoors.

For architect Renzo Piano, the upcoming Hanoi Opera Theater is more than just an architectural project. It is also a work of art that captures the essence of Hanoi, pays homage to traditional cultural elements, supports the modest way of life in the present, and fills the future with the most advanced modern ideals.