A floating opera house is being built in Hanoi

24 October 2025, 09:00

Isola Della Musica, the ‘island of music’, will open in 2027 in the Vietnamese capital.

Construction has started on a new floating opera house on Hanoi’s Quang An Peninsula.

Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop in collaboration with PTW Architects, the Isola Della Musica (‘island of music’ in Italian) will be situated on a purpose-built island between Hanoi’s West Lake and Dam Tri Lake in the Vietnamese capital.

The building, made from ribbed concrete, has been designed to echo a rippling shell, inspired by the oysters once found in the area.

The main complex will house an 1,800-seat opera hall and 1,000-seat conventional hall, with the designers describing the structure as “conceived as a deep study of mathematic models existing in nature and not just as a formal gesture”.

Read more: Ranking the world’s 10 most breathtakingly beautiful opera houses

The opera house is set for completion in 2027, subject to some environmental restoration and ongoing construction. The project is financed with social backing, while the city focuses on upgrading transport links and local infrastructure.

The new area spans nearly 44.1 hectares and has been earmarked for a cultural and arts park, a city theatre, religious facilities, recreational areas and service and accommodation areas. A proposed Long Thanh International Airport is set for completion in 2026 and will be one of the biggest in the world.

The Hanoi Opera House – in the heart of the city – was built in 1901, inspired by the Palais Garnier in Paris and completed in 1911. It will remain open when the newer opera house is built.

Renzo Piano is behind a number of the world’s most impressive buildings, including The Shard in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art.