The new building complex of 33,000 sq.ft will be constructed on a 217 hectare site. The People's Republic of China will bear the cost of Theatre amounting to Chinese Yen, 150,800,000 equivalent to Rs. 2,250 million for which the agreement was signed on November 25, 2007. The Yanjion Group has agreed to complete the project within 26 months.
The National Performing Arts Theatre will be constructed in the neighbourhood of the National Museum, Vihara Maha Devi Open Air Theatre, the Art Gallery, in a central venue, bordering Kumaraswamy Mw. and C.W.W. Kannangara Mw. in Colombo 7.
The new theatre will be a masterpiece of architecture designed by the Chinese and adorned with the motifs of traditional Sri Lankan architecture.
The architecture of the new theatre was designed by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. The main component of the theatre is the huge auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,288. Since this is a large building complex in Colombo it is located towards the North-West of Independence Square and facing the Kannangara roundabout.
The Nelum Pokunas (Lotus Pond) in Anuradhapura has given inspiration to the architecture of the new theatre, the significance of which is that the lotus is a traditional motif in Sri Lankan and Chinese culture.
The building will be an attractive structure resembling a grand lotus flower in a pond. The structure appears at the base, making transparent as it appears higher. The National Performing Arts Theatre will have the main auditorium and dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, meeting halls, restaurants.
FULL STORY: DN
