Mecanoo’s ‘Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts’ has broken ground in Kaohsiung with a festive public celebration hosted by President Ma Ying-jeou and attended by Architect Francine Houben. The new cultural complex will be the largest in Asia at 141,000 sqm, featuring the most modern in theatre technology, housing a concert hall with 2000 seats, an opera house with 2250 seats, a playhouse with 1250 seats, a recital hall with 500 seats, a public library and studios for music and dance.
The ‘Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts’ sits in the northeast corner of the metropolitan park, which functions as a great green lung for Kaohsiung. The center is not only the first performing arts facility in southern Taiwan, but also the largest investment in culture and the arts made by the Taiwanese government in the last two decades. The center promises to be the new icon for the 2.7 million residents of Kaohsiung and marks the transition from a port city to a modern, cultural metropolis.
Francine Houben, founding architect and creative director of Mecanoo, based her design on Dutch architectural concepts which involves the seamless integration with the surrounding landscape. Inspired by the lush banyan trees in Wei-Wu-Ying Park, she created the organic and liberal theme for the Center’s design. The tree trunks, aerial routes and shade create a space dotted with openings which allow fresh air to flow. Through the integration of the open space, the green belt and the vast area itself, the Center and the Park become one.
The great roof provides shade and protection from Taiwan’s tropical climate and forms an informal public space where city residents can stroll, practice Tai Chi, meditate or just relax. Inspired by ancient Greek theatre, an outdoor seating area on the roof was created, just at the point where the roof dips to the ground. The surrounding park in turn becomes an informal stage. The park features light slopes, valleys and water pools creating intimate public spaces.
Face
Kaohsiung is one of the world’s larges sea harbours with five million people living in the region. A high speed train line connects the city with Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. The harbour city of Kaohsiung wants to change into a multifaceted city with a state-of-the-art service industry and a rich cultural life. As a result, a new metro system is to come online in 2009 and in the Wei-Wu-Ying Metropolitan Park, a former military compound of 65 ha., a grand complex for concerts, opera and theatre is being realised. The programme consists of a concert hall with 2000 seats, an opera house with 2250 seats, a theatre hall with 1250 seats and a Recital Hall with 500 seats. An international competition was organised for the design of the park and the performing arts center. There is hardly any misunderstanding with regard to the ambitions of this project; the park and the arts complex must, with one gesture, give Kaohsiung another face. An international jury chose the design of Mecanoo because of its great imagination, one-ness of the arts center with the park, modern theatre techniques and incorporation of the subtropical climate.
Banyan
The large park and performing arts center merge with one another. The centuries old Banyan trees in the area formed a source of inspiration for the design. Its crown can grow so wide that according to legend, Alexander the Great could take shelter with his entire army under this tree. Mecanoo’s building at 225 metres by 160 metres resembles the crown of a Banyan. Banyan Plaza and sheltered public space in between halls creates a porous space wherein interior and exterior blur. In the subtropical climate, grasses and plantings on the roof provide natural and efficient cooling. The roof holds an informal public space where city inhabitants can stroll, practice Tai Chi or meditate. Where the roof touches down to the earth, an open air theatre in the tradition of the ancient Greeks, is created with space for thousands of visitors. The surrounding park then becomes stage and set.
Butterfly Garden
Slopes, valleys and water pools create intimate public spaces varying in size, scale and proportion. Meandering paths lead to a botanical garden, a bamboo grove, a playground, a tea pavilion and a butterfly garden. The park design is a logical continuation of the performing arts center with its public open spaces and roofscape.
Programme
Theatre complex of 141,000 m2 in the Wei-Wu-Ying Metropolitan Park with a total capacity of 5,900 seats: Concert Hall 2000 seats, Opera House 2250 seats, Playhouse 1250 seats, Recital Hall 500 seats, public library of 800 m2, rehearsal/education halls for music and dance, 2 congress halls with 100 and 200 chairs and stage building workshops.
I practive both Tai-Chi and meditation on my spare time. It is really good for general health.*:~
my sister is into performing arts to, she kind of love it.,–
i would also like to learn Tai-Chi but there seems to be no practitioner in our area:*;