Chongqing Grand Theater in China: The Chongqing Grand Theater in China (gmp FOCUS) - Tapa dura

Exploration of the unique architectural design of the Chongqing Grand Theater in China. The Grand Theater is not a building with a typical facade with wall and window surfaces, but is contained within a well-positioned curtain of frosted glass panels. The magazine Baumeister comments: "The light penetrating from the inside to the outside, as well as the reflection of sun, clouds, and water on the multi-layered and staggered glass surfaces, present the building in ever-changing, mystical lighting moods." In this volume, the architects responsible present the design by means of texts, images, and plans, and there is an essay by the architecture journalist Dirk Meyhoefer in which he discusses the Grand Theater. Text in English and German.

To visit a grand theater performance represents a special occasion, an escape from everyday life. Owing to its proximity to the water, the "Grand Theater" appears to float over the Yangtze River. Surreal light reflections create poetic compositions of reality and fiction, like the illusory world of a theatrical production. A stone platform forms the base for the glass sculpture. The ground plan and elevation follow strict functional requirements, despite their seemingly arbitrary expressiveness and maritime analogies. Two concert halls and their corresponding foyers lie on the longitudinal axis, like on the "keel line" of a ship, thereby forming the entrance areas at the bow and stern. In between these two entrance areas, in the "midship" area, lies the central "Exhibition Hall", linking all the foyer areas of the theater together. This means that all kinds of performances and events can be held at the same time, independently of each other.