Chinese opera house blaze comes just months after Rem Koolhaas building destroyed in Beijing: fire has hit the Opera House designed by Zaha Hadid under construction in Guangzhou, China.

According to Bloomberg, the structure of Guangzhou Opera House in southern China, originally scheduled to open in the second half of the year, remains intact after a fire on May 9, according to the architects.

Investigations continue into the cause of the fire, which occurred at about 7:50 a.m. and was put out in less than an hour, the company said in a statement. The opening may be delayed, the statement said. Construction resumed after the fire, according to Taiwan-based CD News.

The practice of Zaha Hadid, who won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, won the right to design the opera house in 2002. The structure will sit on the bank of the Pearl River. Guangzhou is the capital city of Guangdong province.

A spokesman for Zaha Hadid Architects made the following statement on the condition of the building following the fire:

‘An incident involving a fire at the construction site of the Guangzhou Opera House occurred at 7:50am on Saturday 09 May 2009. All staff were evacuated safely with no injuries. No members of the public were involved. The fire was extinguished by the Fire Department in under an hour. Initial inspections confirm the structure of the building remains completely intact.

Further investigations into the cause are undergoing. We must wait for these investigations to be completed before we know if the opening date will need to be altered.’

The project, which will cover an area of 46,000m² and has a price tag of one billion yuan (£65m), was expected to open later this year as China’s third-largest theater.

Opera Houses are a source of civic pride in China and are frequently designed by foreigners such as Hadid, French architect Paul Andreu (Beijing) and Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott (Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Zhengdong New Town and Dongguan).

The Guangzhou opera house was set to be Zaha Hadid’s first building completed in China, containing an 1,800-seat theater and a concert hall.

From the architects’ project description:

Conceptual Interpretation
‘Overlooking the Pearl River the Guangzhou Opera House is at the heart of Guangzhou’s cultural sites development. Adopting state of the art technology in its design and construction it will be a lasting monument to the New Millennium, confirming Guangzhou as one of Asia’s cultural centers. Its unique twin boulder design will enhance urban function by opening access to the riverside and dock areas and creating a new dialogue with the emerging new town.

Urban Strategy/Landscape
The structure rises and falls at the foot of Zhujiang Boulevard, bringing together the two adjacent sites for the proposed Museum and Metropolitan Activities. As an adjunct to the Haixinsha Tourist Park Island, the Opera House presents a contoured profile to provide a large riverside focus to visitors. When viewed from the park at the center of the Zhujiang Boulevard, the Opera House creates a visual prelude to the Tourist Park Island beyond. When viewed from the river, the towers of Zhujiang New Town provide a dramatic back-drop to the Opera House and give a unified vision of civic and cultural buildings on a riverside setting.

An internal street, an approach promenade, is cut into the landscape, beginning at the proposed Museum site at the opposite side of the central boulevard, leading to the Opera House. Cafe, bar, restaurant and retail facilities which are embedded shell-like into these landforms are located to one side of the approach promenade. Visitors arriving by car or bus are deposited at a ‘drop-off’ on the north side of the site on Huajiu Road. Service vehicles access the Opera House and Theater Buildings at either end of the Huajiu Road. VIP access to the Opera House is from the western boundary facing Huaxia Road.’