Hamburg saved the opera from aristocracy; Architecture for everyone!

Hamburg, the port city of Germany, is on the threshold of an unprecedented experience in urban architecture. The Danish architecture company “Bjarke Ingels Group”, known in the world as “BIG”, won the international competition to build the new opera house of this city with a revolutionary design. A building that breaks the traditional boundaries of a cultural center and defines itself as an integral part of the park and the public space of the city with a completely passable roof and a design without a back view. (Yanko Design)

Photographer: Unknown / Yanko Design

The new Hamburg Opera House is to replace the old building from the 1950s and will rise on the Baakenhöft peninsula, in the HafenCity district, right where the city meets the water. This project with an area of ​​4,200 square meters is more than just a performance hall; A public building in the heart of a park that welcomes all citizens, even those without opera tickets.

Photographer: Unknown / Yanko Design

The main idea of ​​Hamburg’s new structure is to break the aristocratic and exclusive image of classical opera houses. While old buildings with imposing facades and lavish entrances often created a distance between themselves and the common people, BIG’s design transforms the entire structure into an extension of the city’s public space by removing the “back facade” and turning the roof into concentric green terraces. People can walk on the roof of this building, relax and enjoy the view of the harbor.

Photographer: Unknown / Yanko Design

The facade of Hamburg’s new opera house reflects its design philosophy well; Just as the sound of the opera is spread in the space, the architecture of the building also flows in the urban landscape and invites the citizens inside. This approach not only creates new social spaces at different levels, but also reduces the sense of heaviness and its imposition on the environment by intelligently distributing the volume of the building. More than a monument, this project is considered a dynamic and living urban space, as if by chance, a world opera hall has been placed in its heart.

What do you think about combining cultural spaces with public places? Share your opinion with us and other Kojaro users.

Cover photo source: Yanko Design Photographer: Unknown