Bjarke Ingels Group designs new waterfront home for Hamburg State Opera

Design firm BIG has won an international competition to design the new home of the Hamburg State Opera in Germany’s second-largest city.

Located on a peninsula in HafenCity, a large waterfront development, the new Hamburg State Opera will house the State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet. Replacing the 1950s State Opera building, the 45,000-square-meter (roughly 484,000-sf) venue will meet contemporary acoustic, spatial, and technical standards.

The opera house design unfolds as a series of terraced landscapes rising from the water’s edge. When seen from above, the roof follows a continuous circular shape opening toward the harbor.

The sculpted topography creates pathways across the building, from the quay to the elevated gardens, forming outdoor gathering spaces and a public connection between the city and river. All main floors have direct access to the outdoor terraces, which can serve as event and gathering spaces.

“The opera will appear like a landscape of concentric terraces—emanating like soundwaves from a central beating heart of music, expanding outward into the harbor like ripples on the surface of the sea,” Bjarke Ingels, BIG founder and creative Director, said in a statement. “The result is a three-dimensional public park open and accessible from all sides, with expansive views in all directions.”

At the heart of the building, the main hall features gently curved balconies. Horizontal bands of timber wrap the interior, creating a continuous surface that carries sound evenly through the hall.

“The main hall is the heart of the project—a space with state-of-the-art acoustics and perfect sightlines to the stage,” Jakob Sand, BIG partner, said in the statement. “Immersive concentric wooden rings shape the hall and its balconies.”

Behind the main hall, a smaller studio stage, rehearsal rooms, and back-of-house areas have direct access to the stage, so that artists can move easily between practice and performance.

Visitors can enter the opera house by foot, taxi, or bus via the park, pier, or street. The park’s stone pavements continue into the main foyer, which contains two central timber staircases.

Designed by BIG Landscape, the surrounding park manages storm surges through sloping terraces, vegetated dunes, and wetland gardens. Basins collect rainwater, creating habitats for amphibians and aquatic plants.