Ambitious Busan Opera House proposal draws inspiration from Korean stone art

This futuristic design by Australian architects Lacoste+Stevenson was submitted for the Busan Opera House competition. The competition invited entries from all over the globe to design a landmark Opera House, which is to be constructed in 2014 with the goal of increasing tourism to the city of Busan, South Korea.

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Resembling an enormous pebble perched at the end of the promenade (or an alien spaceship), the design dubbed "Open Suseok" hopes to resonate with this Korean tradition by drawing inspiration from local stone art (or Suseok).

The stage door for artists and staff is hidden through the disguised, lower entrance, whilst the main public entrance opens and lowers down like a giant gangway, giving the arriving spectators an impression of boarding a spacecraft. Inside the building, a grand stairway to the foyer features a soaring void rising 45 meters (148 feet) high. The Opera Theater and multi-function Concert Hall are both positioned above one another, contributing to the height of the foyer whilst also creating space for the outdoor performance area.

The rear facade opens upwards for an amphitheater stage event, featuring an enormous media screen built from thousands of small LED lights. Photovoltaic cells are embedded in the exterior of the structure, generating enough energy to power the media screen, with excess power supplied to the general operation of the opera house.

Five winning Busan Opera House submissions have already been selected by the jury, but the identity of the architects won't be announced until the results of the second stage competition are announced (date to be confirmed).