Chongqing Grand Theater in China - Meinhard von Gerkan

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.