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The lighted glass facade is mirrored in the lake

The NCPA at night
 

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Martin ncpa

The National Center for the Performing Arts is one of the architectural icons of the “New Beijing”, alongside the Olympic stadium and the CCTV tower. The construcion was begun in 2001 and it was inaugurated with a concert in December 2007.
The NCPA was designed by the french Architect Paul Anrdreu, who designed a number of terminals for important airports and had worked as an associate on the design of the Grande Arche at LaDefense. He designed it as a futuristic building, that, while expressing modernity, at the same time complements the historical ensemble it’s located next to, namely the Forbidden City with the Tian An Gate from Imperial time and the Great Hall of the people and the Mao-Mausoleum from early communist times.
This is achieved by its almost organic appearance as a smooth dome positioned inside an artificial lake, which earned it the nickname “The egg”.
light enters through the impressiv arch of the dome The Great Hall of the People reflected in the windows of NCPA


The dome is constructed mainly of titanium and glass and requires no pillars. It spans 212 meters in east-west and 144 meters in north-south direction, and stands at a height of 46 meters. It covers three internal structures which contain the actual Theater Hall, Concert Hall and Opera Hall like a huge tent. All the Halls together contain 5452 seats and have an interveaved structure, connected by countless balconies and bridges. The building has two entrances: The main entrance in the north and a second one in the south. From the subterranean entrance hall, the visitors enter the buildings through two tunnels, which feature a glass roof over which the lake water is flowing. The area under the dome is well lit with sunlight by day and features a wonderful view from the upper levels of the internal structures through the huge glass facade which spans across the building with a smaller area of glass on the south side and a bigger area of glass on the south side. The glass area of the dome is meant to give the impression of a theater curtain that is opened to reveal the stage.
the NCPA looks like a strange round mountain among the cityscape

The NCPA within Beijing's cityscape, with the Great Hall of the People behind and the TianAn Gate to the left.
The NCPA is the venue for all kinds of events, but most importantly, it is the venue for the National Peking Opera, one of the cultural highlights and the most important unique traditional culture
of Beijing.
Glass windows on the lake bottom mark the entrance tunnel

The glass windows on the lake bottom are the roof of the entrance tunnel. On the left is the Great hall of the people.
 
width: 212m
length: 144m
height: 46m
Constructed: 2001-2007
 
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