For the construction of a "home" hall for the relatively young, but already well-known Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra, an area of 11,600 m2 has been allocated in the immediate vicinity of the Proletary stadium. The somewhat strange neighborhood of a sports facility built at the very end of the 1950s, but a fully functioning sports facility and a modern temple of musical culture (this is how the new building is interpreted) did not bother anyone: the project was approved, work is planned to begin before the end of this year and be completed in 2019 …
The head and founder of the MAD studio, Ma Yansun, directly states that he tried to achieve a certain sacredness of the space, the feeling of a safe refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. The building will be surrounded by a green landscape and a pond with lotus flowers will be created in order to create a meditative mood on the approaches to the hall. The building itself with a total area of 26,587 m2 is planned to be covered with translucent matte panels and illuminated from the inside. The result is a mysterious, enigmatic and invitingly flickering lamp with a lampshade, as if made of jade, so prized in China.
Inside, a space-light installation appears: panels scatter the sun's rays, separating visitors from the mortal earthly world and placing them in a space permeated with mountain light. The main hall, which can seat 1600 people, is planned to be organized according to the so-called "vineyard principle", as in the Berlin Philharmonic of Hans Scharun: rows of chairs will surround the stage with terraces. Wood was chosen as the main finishing material. The white acoustic panels on the ceiling surrounding the skylight are shaped like lotus petals so that the audience is practically inside the flower. Any image can be projected onto the surface of the panels, completely changing the hall depending on what is happening on the stage. Also envisaged: a rehearsal room for 400 seats (acoustic panels behind its stage can be raised, opening the space to the outside), a library, a recording studio, rehearsal studios, dressing rooms, a gallery, offices and other premises.
Of course, great attention will be paid to the acoustics of the halls. It will be developed by the chief specialist in this area today, the head of Nagata Acoustics, Yasuhisa Toyota. It was he who participated in the creation and
Walt Disney Concert Hall Frank Gehry, and the not yet completed Elbe Philharmonic of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and the long-suffering Paris Philharmonic of Jean Nouvel - and in almost all high-profile musical projects of recent years. It is indicative that all of them were given and are not given very easily, provoking constant conflicts and problems with funding. Will Ma Yansong have the strength to break this sad tradition?
