The strains of classical music merge with the hiss of brakes at a German subway station. An opera singer takes the underground stage within a portable storage unit, performing for a transient audience.
Between the cities of Mülheim and Essen, amidst the mix of concrete, graffiti, bars and traffic noise, classic stories are told and arias are sung at the Eichbaum Opera. The architecturally-modified steel storage container unites theatrical and urban spaces, bringing moments of art and beauty to the daily grind.
Performances of original operas invite audience participation from paying guests, locals and passengers. In Derailment! A Chamber Opera, the subway sings of the comers and goers, and her dream of escaping the tracks.
Architecture firm raumlaborberlin collaborated with a local opera house, a drama stage, and an independent theater to design the performance hall for passersby. The project’s goal was to breathe new life into the subway station. “We aren’t just dealing with the physical space, in other words the city’s hardware, but also the program, the software,” said architect Markus Bader. “We want to find out how a place is programmed so that it might then be possible to change it,” as quoted in an article on the Goethe-Institut website.
The use of portable storage units reflects trends in architecture in the reuse of materials and the creation of more adaptable living environments.
“When we heard about the opera lodge these German architects created we were fascinated – but at the same time not surprised. We’re continuing to see new and different uses for portable storage units,” said John Finnessy, CMP Executive Director of the National Portable Storage Association (NPSA), in an article on the Art Daily website. “By transforming shipping containers into an open air, outdoor theater, though, these architects have taken creativity to new heights.”
Such creative uses for portable storage units will be highlighted at the NPSA’s 2010 Conference and Trade Show in Orlando’s Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotel Nov. 7-9. Architect Adam Kalkin, world-renowned for his work in container housing, will speak about his innovations in portable storage architecture.
Sources used:
Eichbaum Opera
“German Architects Get Creative with Portable Storage, Transform a Subway Stop into a Mini Opera House.” Art Daily. Oct. 30, 2010.
National Portable Storage Association (NPSA)
NPSA 2010 Conference and Trade Show
raumlaborberlin
Schwiontek, Elisabeth. “Opera On The Motorway – the Urban Strategies of the Berlin-based raumlabor Office”. Goethe-Institut. Jun. 2010.
“The Eichbaum Opera – An Underground Station Becomes an Opera House in the Run-up to Ruhr 2010”. Deutsche Welle.