The new iconic opera house in Guangzhou is a cross between Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid?! You have the Ando concrete (with those little holes - or, do concrete blocks always come that way? - its beyond my very limited architecture knowledge) and the Hadid wavey style. Its nice from a distance, though I cant really say its ground-breaking or unseen elsewhere before - well, its a Hadid.
The Rocco "lunchbox" Guangdong Museum is truly hideous (well he calls it a jewel box, but its really just - a box) - and no, it doesnt have a chance to prove to me otherwise that its inside is better; since there's a 100 people line outside and I cant be bothered to wait - so it seems, traditional art/handicraft does have an audience in local tour groups.
In comparison, the opera house was empty - well its 11am so there's no show on then, and the security wont let me in to take a look - why wont normal citizens be not allowed to get inside the opera house lobby?! One thing will freak out Hadid for sure - the workmanship is horrifying, you can see things are falling apart already (eg, fading signage, parts of Chn characters fell out already) when this is just opened?! Also, the window panels are *really* dirty and you can tell even from a distance.
Both of these new structures are housed in a new public square by the river, overlooking the imposing TV tower (on days when you can see it through the haze and pollution). There's a few more funky buildings coming up around the square; there are tons of Pudong-looking skyscrappers, and it seems all the bank HQs are here too. Guess GZ is catching up with BJ and SH with its share of tall and futuristic looking buildings as well?
No comments:
Post a Comment