The project of the century, Düsseldorf's new opera. On 18 February 2023, in Düsseldorf, capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, the award-winning ideas of the urban planning competition for the location decision were presented by Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller. The large-scale project is appropriately named "The Opera of the Future". In the first phase, national and international offices presented their designs to facilitate a location decision, namely whether the new opera will be located on Heinrich-Heine-Allee or Am Werhahn. Among the finalists is the architectural firm HPP, which won at both locations.

What actually is an "opera of the future"? 

According to the HPP architects, you have to start long before the actual architecture. The architects did not want to create a new iconography in their designs, they are concerned with functionality.  Visions can be successfully prevented by discussions about costs. The figure of 650 million is in the air, a topic that dominates the press. The architects also reveal their thoughts on this, because each opera house is heavily subsidised per performance. The extraordinary comparison that is drawn is: if the more than 600,000 inhabitants of Düsseldorf each received an iPad from the city and enjoyed the cultural offerings at home in solitude, the same costs would be incurred by the city.

The architects hope that the transparent base will become a place for the city's population, a place for cultural encounters, but also a place where you can ride through on a skateboard. 

The opera house will simply be moved up one floor. 

The Am Werhahn location is to have a cultural gallery on the ground floor, where recording studios, ballet schools, music shops or clubs could be, and on Heinrich-Heine-Allee a cultural forum is planned on the ground floor. The visualisation is still an abstraction, but the red area is where the opera will be. Above it is a joint with internal uses as well as a gastronomic offer that also extends to the surrounding roof terrace. A conversation with Werner Sübai, Senior Partner HPP, Remigiusz Otrzonsek, Senior Partner HPP and David Lange, Head of Design | Competition HPP.

(The interview was conducted in German). March 28, 2023

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DÜSSELDORF

Name: HPP

Location: Düsseldorf

"Music theatre and opera are in crisis because people have images of an outdated society, of "high earners". It's about participation and diversity."

Could you briefly explain the competition for the readers? Do you actually have a preferred location?

Werner Sübai: Each participating office made two designs, but we were successful at both locations. From this you can see that we approached the competition with a great deal of seriousness and understanding for cultural building, for the functionality of opera, but also for the urban context. We did not so much focus on the architectural concept, but rather understood the task as it was given to us. 

You are proposing a new building at both locations?

Werner Sübai: No award-winning design has proposed preservation. Why are we having the discussion in Düsseldorf? The basic motivation for the discussion is that the opera we have is not working. The Düsseldorf opera lacks a side stage and has limited usability of the back stage. 

"The competition is called "The Opera of the Future". The participants had to answer the question of what such an opera can do in the future."

Can you explain details about your design, what does the transparent base mean?

Remigiusz Otrzonsek: Transparency does not actually reflect our intention. The competition is called "The Opera of the Future". The participants had to answer the question of what such an opera can do in the future. They know that music theatre and opera are in crisis because people have images of an outdated society, of "high earners". It's about participation and diversity. We want to create a lively, multifunctional and multicultural environment, regardless of the location. In both locations, with slight differences, the ground floor is very important. At the Heinrich Heine, the complete openness, in which a small stage can be accommodated, which is also used for performances. A meeting place and networking of the of the urban spaces expresses the transparency of the design. In the case of the Wehrhahn, it is the culture gallery. 

Werner Sübai: In the case of Heinrich-Heine-Allee, we have developed a marketplace in the urban space that can also be occupied by the urban community and brings added value to the city. From Grabbeplatz I have a large space that connects to the Hofgarten and the Kö. You can meet, eat or even skateboard through the Forum. The opera is on the second floor. 

David Lange: That is what distinguishes our design from all the other designs. There is this space, it has no back to Heinrich-Heine- Allee and Ludwig-Zimmerman-Straße, and the delivery was also solved intelligently. 

"It's an "urban vampire because it only wakes up at night"

Are there any opera houses worldwide that you like? 

Remigiusz Otrzonsek: The Semper Opera House in Dresden is the archetype of an opera house. It was built by Gottfried Semper, who is the godfather of opera venues. You enter a large forecourt, are well dressed, it gets dark, the house lights up, you spend two hours, have a drink of champagne and leave again. It's an "urban vampire because it only wakes up at night", not my comparison, but a nice one. From the State Opera in Vienna, to Cologne and Düsseldorf, they are all static buildings. We all like Sydney, of course, an insanely sculptural radiance, Mannheim, a double theatre with a playhouse and opera, or Copenhagen and Oslo. We now have to reinvent these houses.

©HPP

Werner Sübai: It's not just about sculptures, but also about functionality. The integration of the opera as a contemporary cultural institution in the city. The design of the building envelope is the second step. We are no longer in the age of iconographic architecture, but in the age of relevant and sustainable architecture.

What is essential for us is how we deal with the urban space. We give the city the big space. The opera will be raised one storey.  Every seat in the opera is heavily subsidised per performance. It cannot be that a city society undertakes this for an elitist section of society. Our ambition is to maximise that all people can participate. Just as important as creating a great appearance.  At the Wehrhahn we will have a cultural gallery on the ground floor, where maybe recording studios, ballet schools, music shops or clubs can be and at Heinrich-Heine-Allee there will be a forum.

Remigiusz Otrzonsek: The majority of the population does not spend much time at the opera. Is it an art form that is dying out? In opera, everything is deception, everything that is played on stage, the castle on stage, the wine, the blood. What is right is the feeling of emotion of the audience and I think that the younger generation would also be interested in the emotion. But we would be happy if our design would also contribute to the revival of opera in this sense. We are also very happy that the city has decided to build a new opera house, because it is not a matter of course in view of the costs. People want the opera to play up to international standards. For example, in Bonn there was an exhibition "Opera is dead, long live opera". 

After the presentation of the winners, there were immediately negative press reports because of the costs. What would you say to the critics of the costs? There is talk of 650 million.

Remigiusz Otrzonsek: To all the citizens of Düsseldorf (editor's note: 642,304 inhabitants, as of March 23) you can send the best iPad home for 1,200 euros and they can watch everything in the world. Do we want to live in a city where people all sit at home staring at an iPad? Cultural institutions have the task of making us meet. 

Werner Sübai: One example I would like to give is the story of Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to her 14th child and for whom her husband Shah Jahan built a mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan had intended to build the same mausoleum for himself in black on the other side of the river Yamuna. The construction took 11 years and consumed almost all the state's assets. More than 50 precious and semi-precious stones in marble were used in the house. The son imprisoned his father in the Red Fort in Agra, where he had only 1 room for the rest of his life and was only allowed to come out of his confinement and into the mausoleum once on the anniversary of his wife's death. 500 years later, India would be half as rich in attraction and appeal without the Taj Mahal.  This story was the first time I thought about the sustainability of cultural buildings. If done right, it is an investment for centuries and an added value for generations to come.

Will your design still be changed for the next procedure, can you explain details about that? And what does the red element in your designs actually mean?

Werner Sübai: We want to develop imagination. The structural engineering competition will probably come in 3 to 4 months and then you need 3 months to work on this.

David Lange: The visualisation is still an abstraction. The light area is the open space, open 24/7 for everyone, not only for opera visitors. The red area is the opera. Above that is the fugue with the internal areas, the administration and the gastronomic offerings. 

Will the final design look like this? 

Werner Sübai: Absolutely. 

"Opera of the future" project, Perspective Hofgarten / Königsallee, as well as Am Wehrhahn ©HPP