A giant spiral staircase guides visitors to the roof of the Shanghai Grand Opera House, which international studio Snøhetta designed to be "as much a civic destination as a performance venue".

Located on the Huangpu River waterfront in Shanghai, China, the 146,786-square-metre opera house was conceived as a major cultural landmark that can accommodate a variety of musical performances.

While Snøhetta's design responds to a highly ambitious brief, the studio said it began the project as it always does, by taking time to examine and understand the specific site and its context, no matter the scale.

According to the studio, this helped it to create the desired landmark while ensuring it felt like an extension of the existing public realm, open and accessible to both ticket holders and passersby.

"We always begin the same way, regardless of scale: by understanding the context," Snøhetta co-founder Kjetil Thorsen told Dezeen.

"A cultural building, any building for that matter, must respond to its surroundings, the people who use it, the performers it serves, and the city it becomes part of," he reflected.

"When I last visited the site, I was asked by a Chinese architecture student how we managed to create a building that felt so Chinese despite not being from China. The answer lies in observation and understanding context."

Shanghai Grand Opera House's defining feature is its spiral staircase, which dramatically cantilevers at its peak and was intended to emulate everything from an unfolding fan to a dancer or a set of piano keys.

It leads directly to the publicly accessible rooftop, which doubles as a stage, an observation deck or simply a meeting point. According to Thorsen, it was integral to making the building feel part of the urban fabric.

He compared the design to the Oslo Opera House, which the studio completed in 2000, with both designs actively seeking to "reduce thresholds wherever possible".

"Buildings like opera houses inevitably create thresholds through walls, doors, and ticketed programs. We see it as our responsibility to challenge those thresholds and make the building as much a civic destination as a performance venue," Thorsen explained.

"People should be able to enjoy the building without attending a performance. It should become part of everyday life, a place to spend time, meet others, and experience the city," he added.

"A successful landmark is not only recognised by visitors, it is also embraced by the people who live around it and make it part of their everyday lives."

Shanghai Grand Opera House has a radial plan and contains a trio of auditoriums alongside exhibition and education spaces, restaurants and rehearsal and production areas.

The facade flits between transparent and opaque finishes, depending on where the studio wanted to provide privacy and openness. For example, expansive glass elements maximise natural light and views in the lobby.

Together, the three auditoriums can accommodate 4,200 people and host a range of performances. The main auditorium, called the Harmony Hall, contains 2,000 seats across its five levels, while the second hall, named the Soar Theatre, is more intimate, with space for 1,200 people.

The final auditorium contains 1,000 seats and was constructed as a highly flexible space with adaptive seating and staging, catering to more experimental performances. It is fronted with a large glass facade overlooking the river.

"For younger generations especially, that flexibility can help make cultural experiences feel more relevant, accessible, and connected to contemporary life," said Thorsen.

Shanghai Grand Opera House's material palette is a play of contrasts, with the light-coloured white stone, glass, and timber exterior having a more open feel than the darker, more intimate interiors.

Inside, the auditoriums each have a unique aesthetic. The main hall is filled with deep red tones and surfaces, intended to feel as though they are carved from a single block, while lighter wooden materials characterise the other two.

At night, the stage towers that project from the building are illuminated, shifting in colour to "animate the roof and the skyline".

Minimising the building's carbon footprint was a significant challenge due to the building's "scale and complexity", Thorsen said, but this was achieved through measures including passive design strategies.

The bright roof reflects sunlight and heat rather than absorbing it, and the public lobby opens towards both the river and the park, allowing for cross-ventilation.

A palette of durable materials and an adaptable interior will ensure a long lifespan for the building, while a close connection to public transport minimises dependence on private vehicles.

Shanghai Grand Opera House is complete with a landscape design that connects to existing parkland, wetlands and public spaces to support local biodiversity and provide ample public space.

Snøhetta was founded by Thorsen and Craig Dykers in 1989. It won an international competition to design the opera house in 2016 and developed it with the state-owned firm East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI) and consultants Theatre Projects and Nagata Acoustics.

Other major cultural projects by the studio include the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota and the rippled Glasshouse Theatre in Queensland.

The photography is by Yumeng Zhu, Tian Fangfang, Chen Hao and StudioSZ.