Tadao Ando designs concrete arts centre for Sharjah

Japanese architect Tadao Ando has unveiled designs for Il Teatro at Aljada, a cylindrical performing arts centre in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

The centre is part of developer Arada’s masterplan for its mixed-use Aljada development and will be made from concrete according to Ando's signature, minimalist style, which is “both structure and surface, never camouflaged or plastered over.” 

Said to create a haiku effect, Ando's architectural style emphasizes nothingness and empty space to represent the beauty of simplicity. 

The 24,155m2, Il Teatro at Aljada will contain a 2,000-seat auditorium, a boutique restaurant, gallery, theatre, opera, dance, art exhibition, festival and cinema spaces. The building, which is cylindrical in shape, will be topped by a stacked, disc-shaped roof, with a smaller building featuring the same design. 

Unveiling his designs, Ando said: "I have designed the central structure of the building to be round like the Earth as I wanted to create a new world inside it that will attract not only local people but visitors from around the globe." 

Construction is expected to be completed in 2027.