IN CONVERSATION WITH ULRIKE EBERHARDT

SUMISHA GILOTRA SPEAKS TO THE LEAD ARCHITECT ON THE PROJECT, ULRIKE EBERHARDT, ASSOCIATE, DAVID CHIPPERFIELD ARCHITECTS BERLIN, WHO SHARES INSIGHTS ON THE PROJECT AND HER DESIGN SENSIBILITIES. BESIDES THIS STUNNING MASTERPLAN, SHE HAS LED PROMINENT PROJECTS, INCLUDING THE NEW MUSEUM FOLKWANG IN ESSEN AND THE RENOVATION AND EXTENSION OF THE STADTHÖFE IN HAMBURG. IN THIS CONVERSATION, SHE THROWS LIGHT ON THE CHALLENGES SHE FACED ON DESIGNING SUCH A SPACE IN CHINA IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC.

- SUMISHA GILOTRA

SG: Congratulations on the design of the Grand Theatre and hotel complex in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Could you tell us what makes this project special for you?

UE: The genesis of the project was a little crazy and initially we didn’t believe that our masterplan and the design for an opera house, hotels and music academy would be built. But then everything happened very quickly and within 15 months, not only was the design completed, but the opera house was also as good as finished. Designing and planning an opera house is a ‘once in a lifetime’ task and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to do this with the team in Berlin and the colleagues in Shanghai and Jingdezhen.

However, we had challenging conditions as the first Corona outbreak happened in Wuhan almost at the same time. All our considerations - who should supervise the project on site, when and for how long - were thus obsolete and we had to work mainly from home and via video conference. Until today, we have not been able to see the result of our work in person. This is a great pity for all those who worked on the project from Berlin.

Which is your favourite part of the project and why?