Santos Prescott and Associates

site by 67a2 media

Location

Taichung City, Taiwan

Year

2013

Client

Taichung City Government

The architecture is designed to be an extension of the park. The buildings step down from Park Avenue II to the west. The park is merged with the buildings through rooftop gardens that reflect the uses below: the Library has “reading room gardens” with places to sit and study under the trees. Sculpture gardens used for display and viewing for the Art Museum. The pattern of the landscape and the spatial rhythm of the buildings are reflected in the ground level gardens as they merge with the park.

Two separate buildings reflect the different purposes, audiences, and programmatic schedules of the Taichung City Cultural Center components. On the southern boundary, the TCCC Art Museum service yard also functions as a buffer between the existing Wave Pool and the TCCC complex. The Library is sited to the north, to promote noise protection from the Wave Pool. The Library allows for park views from reading rooms and the functions are visible from the park. The building is predominantly made of glass. The Art Museum program is predominantly focused internally, carefully lit by north-facing skylights or artificial light. The building mass has solidity clad in stone. The sculpture exhibited in the exterior roof gardens reveals the interior program.

Between the two TCCC buildings, a generous space connects Park Avenue II to the Taichung Gateway Park. The plaza slopes gently from the street and flattens in the center to form a plaza serving both entry lobbies. Sheltering this space is a canopy made of glass, with a wood and steel truss suspended from the buildings. Different public functions may take place here, from performances to cultural night markets.

Taichung Cultural Center