Copenhagen Royal Theatre Competition

with Todd Bracher

competition project realised for CesareTorno Architetto, Milan, Italy

Copenhagen, Denmark
2001

The theater blurs the
separation of the
passage from the real
world to the world of
the theater while
presenting itself on
all levels as an urban
experience.

From the town
planning point of view,
the site presents the
opportunity of creating
and resolving the
circulation node;
Skt. Annae Plads
–Nyhavn – Holmen
– proposed metro.
Far from being exiled
at the peripheral of
the city center and the
Nyhavn area, it
naturally becomes a
lively waterfront area.
For the residents of
Kobenhavn the theater
is seen in two alternative
ways. During the
non-show hours, the
theater is completely
transparent. The mold
of the typical closed
shell of a theater is
replaced by the Greek
principle of complete
openness and
participation of the
nature in the theater
and the theater in the
nature (city).
Exposing every joint,
every beam to be seen.
From the very first
moment the visitor
enters the foyer, the
theater offers a huge
observation point
and frame to the city
and the sea. Then
suddenly, moments
before the opening
curtain, the theater
becomes translucent
allowing the appropriate
conditions for the
performance and
transforms the view
from the outside to an
animated mosaic of
colors and light as
the performance
is being played
and the
performance of the
city seen from within
is exchanged for the
performance of the
actors.