One of the few projects for which I had acoustic design responsibility before leaving Hong Kong has finally opened. It is nice to see the results and an architecture team proud of the project. Well done to my ex-colleagues there for seeing it through.
The Shenzhen Baoan Cultural District Performing Arts Center is a 28,000m2 facility by the water, part of a larger complex including a museum and library.
It includes a 1500-seat opera house and a 600-seat multipurpose hall. The main hall is quite functional and designed to accommodate opera and ballet but also a wide range of contemporary Chinese performances. The diffusion on the wall is fully integrated into the architectural finish.
The multipurpose hall is a blackbox with an architectural presence. Able to go flat floor for banquets and tiered on both sides of a fashion catwalk. Its ceiling is technical, the upper white walls project sound for concert and speech events, the lower walls and rear wall are absorptive to accommodate a flexible sound system configurations.
Now it is in the hands of artists and I wish them all the best in turning these two venues into a creative and successful new house in Shenzhen.
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Acoustic Research & Design Ltd 