Renzo Piano’s ‘Island of Music’ breaks ground in Hanoi
Hanoi’s Westlake Opera House, a new cultural landmark designed by architect Renzo Piano and named Isola della Musica (Island of Music), breaks ground on the Quang An Peninsula by Đầm Trị Lake. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the complex features a 2,000-seat opera house and a themed cultural and art park.
The architectural and structural design of the Hanoi Westlake Opera House is rooted in the principle of expressing the building’s interior program through its external form, much like natural double-layered structures. After exploring several geometric models, from soap bubble shells to two-dimensional catenary envelopes, the team developed a three-dimensional catenary surface as the defining geometry of the project.
This thin ribbed concrete shell functions entirely in compression, distributing loads to a few internal supports and multiple perimeter points along the square island base, which forms the archetypal footprint of the building. Between the ribs, the structure allows for openings, while the outer rain screen, expected to be clad in ceramic tiles, follows the shell’s complex curvature. These tiles vary in size to create a pixelated texture that shimmers with a mother-of-pearl effect, subtly shifting with changing light and weather conditions.
renderings by Aesthetica Studio, courtesy of RPBW
mother-of-pear-like shell reflects the colors of the lake
The Hanoi Westlake Opera House, also known as the Pearl Theater, is one of the most ambitious cultural projects of the city to date. Developed by Sun Group, the 191,000-square-meter site is set to host major cultural and political events while offering public spaces for creativity and recreation.
A striking dome-shaped structure inspired by the rippling surface of West Lake shields the project. Renzo Piano, the Italian architect behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris and The Shard in London, has spent decades exploring thin-shell technologies, and for the first time, he applies them here in Hanoi. The shimmering, mother-of-pearl–like surface of the roof captures and reflects the shifting tones of the lake throughout the day.
The building hosts two main auditoriums, including an opera hall that accommodates 1,797 guests and a multi-functional performance space with movable seating for up to 1,430 standing visitors and 216 balcony seats. Advanced acoustic engineering allows panels in the main auditorium to move and adjust, tailoring sound reflection and reverberation for different performance types, a system found in only a handful of opera houses worldwide.
Renzo Piano’s Opera House breaks ground in Hanoi | image © Sun Group, via @rpbw_architects
reshaping west lake’s urban landscape
Renzo Piano’s Isola della Musica forms part of a broader regeneration effort along West Lake. Surrounding ponds and waterways, including the lotus pond of Pho Linh Pagoda and Thuy Su Lake, will be restored and replanted with native lotus flowers to integrate the architecture into its natural setting. Eight new boat docks will support a future waterway route, including one connecting directly to the opera house. Meanwhile, Dang Thai Mai Street will be expanded to 90 meters in width, linking Xuan Dieu Street with the lakeshore and introducing a new pedestrian promenade.
the complex features a 2,000-seat opera house and a themed cultural and art park
the team developed a three-dimensional catenary surface as the defining geometry of the project
this thin ribbed concrete shell functions entirely in compression
the outer rain screen, expected to be clad in ceramic tiles, follows the shell’s complex curvature
between the ribs the structure allows for openings
the 191,000-square-meter site is set to host major cultural and political events
a striking dome-shaped structure inspired by the rippling surface of West Lake shields the project
tiles vary in size to create a pixelated texture that shimmers with a mother-of-pearl effect
project info:
name: Hanoi Westlake Opera House Isola della Musica
architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop | @rpbw_architects
location: Quang An Peninsula, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, Vietnam
area: approx. 191,000 square meters
developer: Sun Group
client: Hanoi People’s Committee
completion: expected 2027
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