After five
years of construction, China's National
Grand Theater undergoes its first test
runs starting next Tuesday. The egg-shaped
edifice is one of the most talked-about
architectural projects in years. It's
audacious and innovative design is by
French architect Paul Andreu and the
project itself has evolved on a grand
scale.
Situated in
the heart of the capital, the futurist
theater emerges like an island at the
center of a lake. Employing over 20,000
titanium panels and 12 hundred panes of
laminated glass, the stunning exterior
aesthetically portrays the opening of a
giant curtain.
Entering the
theater, audiences will pass through an
80-meter tunnel, looking up at shimmering
water viewed through the transparent roof.
(Click picture for enlargement.)
