ROCK ‘n’ roll: Flintstones-style music venue resembling a massive boulder opens beside the Great Wall of China
- The ‘Chapel of Sound’ faces out on the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China
- It was designed to look like a ‘mysterious boulder that had gently fallen into place’ in the valley
- The 790-sq-metre venue features a ‘semi-outdoor amphitheatre’, an outdoor stage, and a viewing platform
Looking like a building from the Flintstone’s hometown of Bedrock, this new music venue puts the rock in rock ‘n’ roll.
The spectacular concert hall is designed to look like a ‘mysterious boulder that had gently fallen into place’.
Known as the Chapel of Sound, it faces out on Jinshanling, a Ming Dynasty-era section of the Great Wall of China near Chengde in Hebei province that dates back to the 1300s.
Pictured is a spectacular new concert hall in China that was designed to look like a ‘mysterious boulder that had gently fallen into place’
The 790-sq-metre (8,503-sq-ft) concert venue is made up of overlapping rippled layers of concrete.
It features a ‘semi-outdoor amphitheatre’, an outdoor stage, and a green room for the acts to relax in before their performances.
Bronze was used on the handrails and the doors to ‘create a warm contrast against the concrete’ and winding staircases weave through the building to a rooftop viewing platform that offers ‘panoramic views of the valley and Great Wall’.
The ‘Chapel of Sound’ concert hall, pictured, is set in a valley in Chengde in China’s Hebei province
The structure faces out on Jinshanling, pictured above, which is a Ming Dynasty-era section of the Great Wall of China (file photo)
The 790-sq-metre (8,503-sq-ft) concert venue is made up of overlapping rippled layers of concrete. Musical acts can perform at the Chapel of Sound’s ‘semi-outdoor amphitheatre’, pictured on the right
The space features an outdoor stage and a green room for the acts to relax in before their performances
The venue boasts a rooftop viewing platform, pictured, that offers ‘panoramic views of the valley and Great Wall’
A giant opening in the roof, meanwhile, lets natural light into the space and illuminates the stage.
A drainage system has been implemented inside the building that ensures that any rainwater that falls through the chasm in the roof will drain away.
When performances aren’t underway, the concert hall is open to ’community gatherings’. Members of the public can visit and enjoy ‘stunning views of the sky and the surrounding landscape’.
The opening in the roof, pictured above, lets natural light into the space and illuminates the stage
When performances aren’t underway, the concert hall is open to ’community gatherings’. Members of the public can visit and enjoy ‘stunning views of the sky and the surrounding landscape’
A drainage system has been implemented inside the building that ensures that any rainwater that falls through the chasm in the roof will drain away
Beijing-based design firm Open Architecture is behind the awe-inspiring construction. The architects wanted the building to blend in with the ‘impressive natural landscape’ but to also feel ‘undeniably man-made’.
The designers worked with acoustic engineers on the project, and set out to channel the way that sound ‘reverberates in natural spaces such as caves’.
They add that they wanted to ’see the shape of sound’ in the finished design.
Beijing-based design firm Open Architecture is behind the awe-inspiring construction
The architects wanted the building to blend in with the ‘impressive natural landscape’. Inside, visitors will find winding staircases, such as the one pictured on the right, that weave through the building
A statement explains: ‘While designed to capture the unfamiliar and deeply touching experience of music performed in the cradle of nature, the architects also wanted people just to calm down and listen to the sound of nature, which they believe is profoundly inspiring and healing.’
It adds: ‘There is an inherent air of mystery around the Chapel of Sound that draws you in as you approach the building.
‘This extends to how people will interact with the space, from being a place for individual reflection to a venue for large-scale concerts, the structure can be experienced in many different ways.’
Bronze was used on the handrails and the doors to ‘create a warm contrast against the concrete’
Concerts and other musical events in the Chapel of Sound will officially start this spring. These events will be scheduled throughout the year, except for during the winter months.
The venue is around a two-hour drive from Beijing. There’s a parking lot nearby, from which a pedestrian path leads to the concert hall.
For more information visit openarch.com.
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