Images reveal Snøhetta's Busan Opera House under construction in South Korea

Architecture studio Snøhetta has released photography of its Busan Opera House, which is currently under construction on a waterside site in Busan, South Korea.

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, the 48,000-square-metre venue will contain an 1,800-seat performance hall, a 300-seat theatre and a walkable rooftop overlooking the nearby sea.

Its main structure and exterior skeleton has been completed, with photography revealing its angular structural form embraced by a curving, geometric facade.

Snøhetta was commissioned to design the Busan Opera House in 2012. Once complete, it will serve as a public space and cultural landmark for the city, the studio said.

"The project reimagines the architecture of the performance hall as an open, interactive, and democratic space, oriented toward communal experiences and everyday use," Snøhetta said.

"As the first opera house to be built in Busan, Korea's second-largest city, the project is poised to become a representative cultural landmark with broader significance beyond a mere performance venue."

Photos of the completed structure reveal the venue's curving form, which is composed of two opposing planes that rise upwards at an angle, with the lower of the two providing sloped access to the upper-floor programmes.

Enclosing the structure is its arched, geometric facade, which features a large circular skylight and was designed by Snøhetta to unify the Busan Opera House's two floors into a "single flow".

"This flexible facade balances the conflicting demands of transparency and protection, visually and spatially weaving the two public floors into a single, unified flow," the studio said.

"This architectural expression embodies openness, continuity, and the everyday lives of citizens," it added.

Yet to be completed on site are the exterior wall installation, interiors and landscaping.

This includes a public promenade and plaza, which will wrap around the building and lead into a public ground floor containing a main lobby and restaurants.

At the heart of the building, the auditorium has been partially clad with cherry-wood panelling.

Elsewhere, Snøhetta has designed an atrium with radiating galleries for the Beijing Art Museum and unveiled plans for a cavernous opera house in Düsseldorf.

The studio was also recently accused of laying off pro-union employees by the Nation Labor Relations Board.

The photography is courtesy of Snøhetta.

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