Snøhetta was recently selected as the winner of the Busan Opera House Competition in South Korea with their ‘Unpacking the Box’ concept. Their proposal is conceived not as frozen music but rather as an instrument, upon which we can play. This instrument is neither a white cube nor a black box, empty devoid of expression; this Opera building outward expresses the values and ethos of the place and content. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Opera in Busan is no longer just a place to see and be seen but a place to meet. A place to be together, in our common cultural context. A place to be alone together, the singular in the plural, and above all a place to meet ourselves in a wider collective consciousness. At the Opera in Busan you will experience the real thing. Not copies, icons and symbols but the real thing, and the real thing is much bigger, brighter and louder than you could ever imagine. This is the prerogative of the Opera and what sets it aside from our commercial and urban landscapes.
