Amidst the sublime, almost surreal wilderness, in the heart of the Province Zhejiang, China, the building of the Wuzhen Theater floats serenely, inviting and alluring.
This rare architectural gem was designed by Artech Architects dream team, and brought the city of Wuzhen under international spotlight; the concept behind it and the end result caused quite a stir in the design world and great hype around architecture amateurs.
An ambitious project for the urban development of the province called for the construction of a grandiose edifice aspiring to become, in time, a cultural landmark. Central to the initiative was building a magnificent structure – impressive in design, and cutting-edge in terms of layout and engineering, fit to host a wide gamut of cultural events and ceremonies. Above all, the aim was to create a space able to attract and host hundreds of visitors and artists, for an exquisite international theatre festival.
The shape of the theater is inspired by that of a twin-lotus flower and features two theatres built back to back and sharing a common stage area; the two interlocking oval shapes have capacities of 1200 and 600 people, and exhibit different styles both in terms of interior design and of seating alignment – catering to the needs of different types of events or plays.
One of the ovals is transparent, while the other is opaque, enabling them to complement each other sublimely. This in turn provides for toying around with light and creating a particular type of atmosphere.
The theater can be accessed by the audience either by wooden boats or by foot, passing across a bridge. Being surrounded by water, the construction also allows for viewing the plays from a covered outdoors foyer or from boats! The unique structure of the Wuzhen Theater exhibits great flexibility in terms of ways of access and exit, audience perspective and so forth.
