Lyon Opera House

The Opera House in Lyon is really a great architectural building from the end of the 20th century. The original opera house was built 1831 in a very classical style, but as time went by the building was in a bad state at the end of the 1980’s and needed to be rebuilt. The famous French architect Jean Nouvel proposed a very revolutionary construction of the Opera house within the old walls of the building, to conserve the historical heritage of the place. The inside of the Opera was totally rebuilt, and the most important work was around the rooftop of the building: the old classical glass & iron construction of the 19th century couldn’t be restored, and there was Jean Nouvel’s most spectacular idea: a brand new rooftop, still constructed with darkened glass for the light but with an ultra modern design of an half-circle over the old walls! The project provoked a very big debate among the citizens of Lyon (like every revolutionary construction…), some of them adored this new roof, other hated it and said it was a scandal to make of the opera house such an ugly building…. Finally the project was accepted and was inaugurated 1993.

The Opera House in Lyon is really a great architectural building from the end of the 20th century. The original opera house was built 1831 in a very classical style, but as time went by the building was in a bad state at the end of the 1980’s and needed to be rebuilt. The famous French architect Jean Nouvel proposed a very revolutionary construction of the Opera house within the old walls of the building, to conserve the historical heritage of the place. The inside of the Opera was totally rebuilt, and the most important work was around the rooftop of the building: the old classical glass & iron construction of the 19th century couldn’t be restored, and there was Jean Nouvel’s most spectacular idea: a brand new rooftop, still constructed with darkened glass for the light but with an ultra modern design of an half-circle over the old walls! The project provoked a very big debate among the citizens of Lyon (like every revolutionary construction…), some of them adored this new roof, other hated it and said it was a scandal to make of the opera house such an ugly building…. Finally the project was accepted and was inaugurated 1993.
When I saw this opera house for the first time, I was breathless I couldn’t believe that some people hated this project: a massive building with a great place around it, but with an impression of a very light structure and the combination of classical and modern style…. a fascinating place. I couldn’t go in and don’t know what the inside looks like, but from the outside it’s a fantastic building! So have a look at this construction if you’re in Lyon, it’s easy to find in the old city-centre, between the 2 rivers Saône & Rhône….

http://www.opera-lyon.com/
http://www.opera-lyon.com/fileadmin/documents/tout_opera/plaquette_visite.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouvel_Opéra_%28Lyon%29

written by vicuna on 2008-04-27 #places #art #design #location #architecture