The proposal by ZDA for the 2020 international competition for the design of the Shenzhen Opera House creates a gateway to the sea, an iconic symbol of the dynamically developing city and a nation in the economic and cultural sense.
The plan makes an attempt to realize a building on the seafront of Shenzhen City that reflects the passionate form elements of the traditional opera genre, but, with its contemporary appearance, also aligns with the cityscape and the waves of the sea.
ZDA’s design for Shenzhen Opera House can best be described through the metaphor of a bustling and lively age-old tree standing on top of a rock, symbolizing the ancient tree of culture. The three great vertical units of cultural buildings, as an allegory for roots, trunk, and foliage, are symbolized by the triad of service, public, and performance areas.