New Millennium Performing Spaces

Interior of Heydar Aliyev Center (Baku, 2013) Zaha Hadid | Photo © Hufton + Crow

Many times we look around and try to understand who we are and where do we stand, in time and space.

Architecture reflects the way we interact with the world, with space around us, the way we celebrate life: music, theater and dance. Some of the most iconic buildings in the world, like the Coliseum in Rome, the Paris Opera and the Bolshoi in Moscow, tell us the story of certain cultures and civilizations, who they were, how they lived.

Spaces designed for the arts are the best examples of changing times and the way culture is expressed.

Although recent, the new millennium has proved to be extraordinarily rich in artistic terms, bringing a huge variety of shapes, materials and colors that promise to forever transform our cities. The new buildings have organic shapes which appear to be dancing or sharpest angles that create creases in the landscape, spectacular spaces inspired by the movement, with vibrant colors and lights changing from day to night.

We have selected some of the most innovative performing spaces of the new millennium.

Only time will tell whether the impact of these buildings will last, but we recognize that they represent a turning point, a landmark for the world today.

Esplanade (Singapore, 2002) | Koh Seow Chuan, Michael Wilford & Partners, DP Architects | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, 2003) | Frank Gehry | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Auditorio de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2003) | Santiago Calatrava | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Sage Gateshead (Gateshead, 2004) | Foster + Partners | Photo © Nigel Young

Casa da Música (Porto, 2005) | Rem Koolhaas | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia, 2005) | Santiago Calatrava | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (Oslo, 2007) | Snøhetta | Photo Wikimedia Commons

National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing, 2007) | Paul Andreu Architecte | Photo Wikimedia Commons

The Copenhagen Concert Hall (Copenhagen, 2009) | Jean Nouvel | Photo Wikimedia Commons

Harpa (Reykjavik, 2010) | Henning Larsen Architects | Photo © Nic Lehoux

21 MINI Opera Space (Munich, 2010) | Coop Himmelb(l)au | Photo © Duccio Malagamba

Astana Kazakhstan Auditorium (Astana, 2010) | Nicoletti Associati | Photo © Alek Akhundov

The Kauffman Center (Kansas City, 2011) | Moshe Safdie | Photo © Michael Robinson Photography

Kilden Performing Arts Centre (Kristiansand, 2011) | ALA Architects| Photo © Hufton + Crow

Plataforma das Artes e da Criatividade (Guimarães, 2012) | Pitágoras Arquitectos | Photo © João Morgado

Festival Hall Of The Tiroler Festspiele (Erl, 2012) | Delugan Meissl Associated Architects | Photo © Brigida Gonzalez

Auditorium Aquila (Aquila, 2012) | Renzo Piano | Photo © Marco Caselli Nirmal

Casa das artes (Miranda do Corvo, 2013) | FAT – Future Architecture Thinking | Photo © João Morgado

Heydar Aliyev Center (Baku, 2013) | Zaha Hadid | Photo © Iwan Baan

New Opera in Jinan (Shandong, 2013) | Paul Andreu Architecte | Photo © Philippe Ruault

House of Music (Aalborg, 2014) | Coop Himmelb(l)au | Photo © Martin Schubert