This is the one we have been waiting for a looooong time! We are so happy the video is finally ready!
Are you ready to be taken along for a day at the Harbin Opera House?
This project has been on our list since its was first announced in 2013. Interest only sparked after seeing endless photos appear on our Instagram feed. We had to see this with our own eyes!
With the help from MAD Architects, we ventured out to Harbin, a city in the north-east of China.
A proper approach, always an essential part of visiting architecture, already proved mind-blowing. Rising up from the landscape, the fluid shapes form 2 venues, which encapsulate a large urban plaza. Arriving in the early morning, the plaza was already bursting with activity. What a beautiful sight for our still slightly tired eyes. From young kids to the elderly, the plaza proved to be a popular spot for Harbin’ers and tourists. And why wouldn’t it? With this architecture as backdrop, we could spend days on end observing every corner of this building. (OH WAIT! There is not one corner in this building. Everything blends together!!)
We ventured along the ‘mountain flanks’ making our way up the building to arrive at a viewing platform overlooking the city and the landscape. Wow! It felt like a proper mountain hike. Visitors interacting with the building, forms the absolute highpoint of this visit. But then we hadn’t seen the interior yet!
The interior is out of this world. There was no beginning, no end. It all blends together. The foyer is filled with light, merging interior and exterior. The Grand Hall, is well, Grand. In every possible meaning of the word. The interior forms spaces after space, each with its own views, own feelings, evoking different emotions.
The whole day was leading up to this moment, the whole visit was crafted around this last climax. Lights go dark and a group of well dressed young musicians enter the stage. Sounds are produced, creating an atmosphere that possibly only could happen in this space. Wow, what an experience, what a moment.
This building is not just a building. It’s a journey, an experience. This building is ARCHITECTURE.
We are so happy to finally have seen this project in person. We hope this video captured the feeling visiting this architecture from a new perspective.
If you ever have the chance to visit Harbin, runnnnn to this building. You will not be disappointed.
Thank you for the great team at MAD Architects to make this visit possible. We can not wait to be immersed by more mad architecture soon.
Thank you Rachel Li for accompanying, filming, translating and endlessly stalking people asking them for their opinions.
Have a great week ahead!
#donotsettle
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Shot on: Canon 80D/Canon S120/iPhone 6s/DJI Mavic Pro
Shot in Harbin, China
Edited in Shanghai, China
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