Royal Opera

Warsaw, Poland

Working with Zurich based Duplex Architekten, Studio Jouan provided the acoustic design for the Royal Opera competition entry in Warsaw.

The project focuses on the creation of a new 350 seat Chamber Opera House designed for small opera performances. Surrounded by a generous stock of trees, the building blends into the park as a free form, in which the edges of the building develop out of the empty space between the trees. Viewed from different sides, times of day and weather situations, the house always takes on a new shape and can thus always be rediscovered.

The opera hall functions as a resonating body like an instrument in a figurative, spatial and acoustic way. The feeling of sitting inside an instrument creates an intimate and concentrated atmosphere. Like the public foyer, the hall is also intended to bring visitors closer to the production. In this case, this is done spatially by merging the orchestra pit with the proscenium. If necessary, the closeness can be increased by moving the orchestra to line of sight or even by leveling the first rows of seats directly with the audience.

Architects: Duplex Architekten

Acoustic Design by Studio Jouan