Located on an artificial peninsula on the shore of the Taihu Lake in China and offers a placement similar to the Sydney Opera House is the Wuxi Grand Theatre which is designed by PES- architects.
The height of the building reaches 50 meters and the entire design is original enough to be comparable to a unique gigantic sculpture. There are eight roof wings spreading like petals over the facades to offer shading and also collect the rain water. These petals (or butterfly wings) contain LED lights to give the building different colors for each performance and thus offer the entire place a character similar to the play in progress.
The main entrance also has 50 light columns spread over, each 9 meters tall, and they lead all the way to the roof of the central lobby and into the lake. They offer a link with the city and the nearby park and also provide a creative bonus to the overall design.
The interior uses a lot of bamboo and thus tries to offer a more local theme with the use of traditional Chinese materials. The Main Opera Auditorium is covered with more than 50000 bamboo blocks that are each shaped in such a way as to offer the appropriate aesthetic and the acoustic performance. Other materials include 20000 glass bricks with a water pattern that cover the wall of the opera auditorium and these are of Finnish inspiration.
The edifice proves to be an example of originality and modern architecture that is functional and also truly beautiful.
