Distinguished at the Thirteenth World Triennial of Architecture “Interarch 2012”

 

The Project contemplates the construction of a new opera and ballet theatre in Batumi, a seaside city on the Black Sea coast in southwest Georgia. Batumi is selected for the construction site for its growing cultural, economic and tourist importance.

 

The project area is located in the vicinity of the new boulevard, a largely undeveloped vast area of the city. The open territory will make it possible to perceive the building from all 360 degrees under different angles through the connecting paths round the construction.

 

The exterior of the structure is modelled by merging of two contrastive structures. All the interior space of the building is located inside the glazed membrane ellipsoid. The architectural character of the theatre forms the combination of inclined intersectional disco-shaped belts. In edition of aesthetic the belts reinforce the construction and serve for shading porpoise as well. Certain sections of the discs can also be used as open terraces.

The auditorium interior of the opera house characterises the integrated transitional surfaces of the walls and circles. Randomly scattered lamps of the auditorium ceiling aims to achieve the sidereal heavens arch effect.

 

The internal volume of the building is based on reinforced concrete frame system. The building is enclosed in the unified elliptic shape with the dimensions A=148m, B=80m, H=46m. It belongs to the meridian (rhombic) double belted mesh type membrane. The membrane, on the other hand is based on the underground foundation wall, and is also reinforced by intersectional elliptic belt system. Each belt in turn acts as an elliptic console with the parabolic section with the maximum high of 3 m. The belts form the construction system across the whole perimeter of the building by intersecting each other in different places.

 

The opera and ballet theatre building consists of eight floors, two of which are located underground. The ground floor houses foyer, cloakrooms, auditorium, stage, soloist changing and rest rooms and part of theatre workshops. Other workshops are stationed at -1st, 1st and 2nd floors. The 3rd floor accommodates changing rooms for opera and ballet soloists and orchestra and choir members, as well as costume and shoe storage rooms. Orchestra, choir, opera soloist and ballet rehearsals and rehearsal stage are located on the 4th floor; rooms for administration, personnel and archive are placed subsequently on the last 5th floor. The opera house auditorium consists of 3 circles and has a capacity of 1810 seats.