Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Shanghai, China

The Shanghai Oriental Arts Center is one of the leading performing arts and cultural facilities in Shanghai and China. Located adjacent to Century Avenue in the Pudong Adminitration and Culture Center, the landmark building was officially opened at the end of 2004 and has come to symbolize the growth of western and traditional art forms in China in recent years. Various cutural and musical performances are currently held in the center, including the 2005 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Shanghai Concert.

The building merges architectural artistry with functionality. The material of the façades is mainly laminated glass incorporating perforated metal sheets. The five interconnected hemispherical halls or 'petals', resembling a butterfly or butterfly orchid from above, each 'petal' belonging in turn to the entrance hall, the Performance Hall, the Concert Hall, the Exhibition Hall, and the Opera Hall, respectively. To avoid confusion when inside, the interior of each of the five segments are decorated with large distictly-coloured pebbles hung on the walls as a means of differentiating between them. Inside, the dark granite floors and richly hued furnishings offer the feeling of being inside a forest, while the metal-layered glass screen walls filter the sunshine for a softly diffused forest floor effect.

The high-tech ceiling changes colour during the night to reflect the nature of the performances inside. It also features ancillary public facilities, such an exhibition hall, music shops, restaurant and arts exchange premises.

Architect : Paul Andreu