Competition for the new Bastille Opera House
- Paris -
The architectural vocabulary used for the design of the main façade, facing the square, was deliberately chosen to convey a sensation of strength and confident presence from a distance by the use of bold geometry, slicing space and manipulating light, but also to give interest and a sense of quality at close quarters by the use of fine materials and careful detailing. I am convinced that it is the quality of the materials, of the detailing and of the workmanship that raise plain geometry from the mundane to the sublime.
In the composition of the main façade symmetry and asymmetry are combined, creating ambivalence and heightened dramatic tension. As the home of opera the Opera House must reflect its theatrical spirit. Opera is bigger than real life: so should the Opera House. The sensation of drama conveyed to the spectator as he approaches the building is maintained as he ascends the shallow processional staircase to the podium. On the podium the spectator starts to be transformed into the performer as he stands on this raised stage with the façade as a stage set, looking out over the square. As he turns to face the building he is drawn into the mysterious engulfing void defined by the monumental hole cut out of the masonry wall. The stairs leading into the building from the pavement and from the podium are splayed in plan to increase the impression of depth. The void is made all the more enticing by the use of contrast between the solid, brightly lit stone wall and the fragile, shaded transparent glass screens retreating from it behind. The glass screens glisten and reflect the light by day. At night the light, and consequently the bustle within the building, are emitted outwards.
