Confronted with an original form of the pyramid, the shape of the Operlab Theatre Pavilion proposal, designed by UGO Architecture and Design, is the result of a consistent analysis of the building of the Grand Theatre. The character and function of a row of interior spaces, including the entrance, auditorium, and stage, finds its reflection in the arrangement of forms composing the body of the building. The pavilion then becomes a repetition of this arrangement and gives it additional meaning. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The vertical arrangement of the elements allows for an introduction of optional modifications, a smooth transition between the spaces the hierarchy of which is inviolable in the building of the Theatre. Disturbing the arrangement results in the spectator being led directly onto the stage and then moving on to the centre which is the entrance area. As a result of the layout, the meaning of the Theatre is transformed, it becomes open to everyday life. Not the actors but the spectators become the subject of a spectacle. The spectator does not have to go through a long initiation in order to watch the Play, it is the Play that meets him/her halfway.
The shapes that symbolize the individual forms of the Theatre are hung on aluminium grids and create a flexible stage scenery for the events happening in the pavilion. They open the space for new activities and are simultaneously related to the original. The spectators experience a series of events. They assemble around the smallest rectangular cuboid (entrance area) and then proceed to sit in the auditorium while the stage curtain (cylinder) is coming down around them. The actors gather in the outer area between the cylinder and the largest rectangular cuboid. After the curtain has risen, the spectator is surrounded by actors. The spectacle begins.
Architects: UGO Architecture and Design Location: Warsaw, Poland Authors: UGO Architecture and Kooper – Magda Piotrowska
