Taipei Performing Arts Center proposal by Emergent Architecture

Another proposal for the design of the Taipei Performing Arts Center by Emergent Architecture. Their aim for the design is to create a world-class urban experience defined by hybrid urban environments not traditionally associated with performing arts theaters.

DESIGN CONCEPT: (text from Emergent Architecture)

"The three theaters are woven together by way of an elevated Concourse, creating a unified whole which has significant presence in the city. The Concourse is a bridging element which acts as circulation for the theaters but also as a commercial zone which includes lively urban activities such as shopping, restaurants, bars, and other public amenities. It will be a 24 hour space which will support the theater functions but also operate independently. Below the Concourse is an urban plaza which is defined by ground topography and the exotic underbelly formation of the Concourse. This space is both the orientation space for the theaters, but also a place for urban events, meeting people, or simply passing through.



The morphology of the project is based on patterns of armatures and pleats which form an intricate ornamental network. Armatures are woven together to create the circulation and structure of the Concourse, forming deep spaces and views from the plaza into the building as well as from the building down into the Plaza and out into the city.



Micro-pleats track along the armatures but also spread out along surfaces, spatially drawing visitors inside the Plaza. The sensations produced by this fluid geometry are heightened by a gradient of color which is most intense on the interior but fades out to the exterior of the building. Formal and color intensities are at their peak in the Concourse, and begin to atrophe toward the theater blocks at the perimeter of the site. In this way this project attempts to bridge classifications of generic and articulated form as well as monochromatic and variegated color.



The Concourse contains the shops arranged in a looping, multi-level arrangement. Restaurants, bars, cafes, and forms of entertainment will be complimented by cultural activities such as art galleries, bookstores, and the theater library. The Concourse is therefore not a mall, but a cultural space, an urban extension of the institution of ‘theater’.



Urban Massing Considerations
The massing of the building responds to external forces, in particular the strong attractor of the Shilin Night Market and the adjacency of the TRTS Jiantan train station across Wen Lin Road. In order to facilitate fluid connection to the Shilin Night Market, the building pulls back and lifts up to become a roof. This becomes a strong linking corridor between the Performing Arts Plaza and the pedestrian entry into the market. The entire east side of the building is carved out to allow views to and from the train station in order to establish a critical connection between the two. An underground passage links the train station, the Night Market, and the Performing Arts Plaza into a robust network.



The zoning requirement of 75% maximum lot coverage is attained by adherence to a 10 M. setback from the siteline as well as additional local setbacks of up to 17 M. Our response to the spirit of the zoning law, however, which is intended to allow for green space, is more comprehensive: by lifting the building off the ground in significant areas, we allow are providing at total of 55% open public space at the ground level. This space will be designed to include soft and hardscape, including exotic flowers, trees, and reflecting pools.



The Theaters and Program Description
The Grand Theater is located on the south end of the site, rotated toward Wen Lin Road. It is designed according to the brief as a proscenium type with 1500 seats and two balconies. It contains all the required back-of-house programs as well as a flytower. The Proscenium Playhouse, located to the northwest corner of the site, is also based on the proscenium type, with associated back-of-house programs and 800 seats. The Multiform Theater is located to the northeast corner of the site and has a 500-800 seat capacity. This theater will be flexibly designed so that it can take the form of a thrust stage, theater-in-the-round, or proscenium arrangement. It will have a flat floor to allow for ease of transformation and build-out. Theater interiors are designed based on optimal sightlines as well as acoustics. All three theaters are entered from the Plaza and have their own separate foyers. These foyers are linked to the Concourse, which becomes the ‘linking space’ called for in the brief.



Source: Emergent Architecture

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Taipei Performing Arts Center proposal by NMDA

Here's another proposal prepared for the Taipei Performing Arts Center design competition by Neil M. Denari Architects. The competition was won by OMA.

DESIGN CONCEPT: (text from NMDA)

"Given the near schizophrenia of the site (lush green vs beige postmodernism), surely a powerful reason to choose this location, we have proposed a scheme that rises to a height of 57 meters (top of the Grand Theater fly tower) as a way to challenge the vertical dominance of the perimeter blocks. This decision has other positive benefits (as will be stated later), yet it is the anticipation of an even taller city that inspires such logic."



"The slope away from the site footprint has been mirrored in the East facing perforated façade of our scheme, essentially setting up a corridor of space between the rail station, the green mountain, and the Shilin Night Market to the North. In fact, the low rise portion of our scheme simply flows from the major mass of the TPAC toward the market as way to continue not only a finer scale but also the 24 hr life of the city."


Photos by NMDA

"Here, because of live action, bodies moving in the theater of visceral experiences, architecture is actually an equally vital organism, shaping experience before, during, and after the performance. When multiplied by a motivation toward verticality, the populist discourse of the program is an ‘x’ factor that suggests spectacle on the one hand, the temptation toward aggressive formalisms, and on the other, a project that is egalitarian in its disposition. Our scheme attempts to merge these tendencies, to bring into focus the project of the icon with the project of the surmountable mass. Like a ball of string, we have sought to make a coherent form through the accumulation of variably scaled events."

Source: NMDA

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Xi’an World Horticultural Expo by Plasmastudio + Groundlab

Plasmastudio won the competition to develop the building and landscape design for Horticultural Expo in Xi’an, China and is now collaborating with Groundlab. for the next stages of development. The project comprises 15,000 exhibition hall building, a series of conservatories, a 37Ha park around an artificial lake as well as ancilliary buildings.



Sources: AALU Landscape Urbanism and ArchDaily



Flowing Gardens begins from a single line -- an axis extends from the Gate to the Greenhouse, traveling through the East and West Hills and over the lake, while extending into many sinuous paths, creating a network of intermingling circulation, landscape and water. Much like the legendary Silk Road, Flowing Gardens is connectivity, circulation, rejuvenation, and elegance.

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Cassa Hotel, New York by Enrique Norten and TEN Arquitectos

Cassa Hotel, designed by Mexican architect Enrique Norten and TEN Arquitectos is located in mid-town Manhattan, at 70 West 45th Street, two blocks north of Bryant Park.





DESIGN CONCEPT: (text from the architect)
This tower is a dramatic architectural statement, using its windows and their punctured rhythm to become the facade’s only ornaments, distinguishing it from the more conventional glass and stone edifices of New York’s midtown.



Cassa’s program mixes public and private: combining restaurant and bar with boutique Hotel and luxury Condominiums that share a common triple height lobby.



The resulting design allows the two to co-exist while functioning independently.



The tower itself is delicately proportioned, resulting from the small site and slender floor plate, like an Obelisk marking the site.







More from Dezeen

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Proposal for Library and Concert Hall in Bodø, Norway by Langdon Reis Architects

Here's one of the finalists for the international competition to design The Bodø Kulturhus and Libraryin Bodø, Norway. This exciting proposal by London-based Langdon Reis Zahn in collaboration with 4B Arkitekter and Gullik Gulliksen Landscape Arkitekter made it into the second round of the competition which was eventually won by DRDH Architects. The third one who made it into the final shortlist is General Architecture of Sweden.



Architect's Project Description:

"The Bodø Kulturhus and Library consists of two public buildings; a new city library (5,500m²) and a concert hall/theatre (7,350m²), with a construction budget of approximately 800,000,000 NOK."










Bodø’s new cultural centre will be:

• a social, public and communal space;
• a space that connects both the local community and its visitors;
• a space that responds to the expectations and imagination of both the local community and its visitors – tourists and/or migrants;
• a space that enhances the local democratic and social traditions, as well as the natural and pre-existing built environment;
• a space that seeks interaction (open to communal and diverse ranges of activities), playfulness and poetic contemplation
• an accessible space, a place to be proud of and belong to.
• a glistening jewel which plays with the diverse qualities of light in the arctic region and brings the spectacular atmosphere of the northern landscape into the buildings
• an urban project that seeks to create a cultural ecology
• a space intrinsically linked to the sense of human scale, participation and creativity.

Building Synergy

"The Bodø Nye Kulturhus and the Bibliotek need to be intrinsically linked both through their own architecture, and by the space in between. This interstitial space must be cohesive, connected, fluid and dynamic. It must define and delimit the cultural precinct, whilst connecting to other public spaces located in the immediate vicinity and in other parts of the city. Together the buildings must form an ensemble of parts that make up a clearly identifiable and distinctive precinct that will leave a lasting memory in the minds of both locals and visitors to Bodø.
The diverse activities- recreational, cultural, communal and commercial, must collide and intersect to create a vibrant and dynamic cultural ecology. The buildings must form the foundations for this activity to occur."



Built form hypothesis:

"The built forms take their initial inspiration from the merging between natural and artificial landscapes i.e. the natural glacial topographies/fjords and the rigid city grid. The buildings merge with the ground, almost as if carved from the same solid mass. They stand like rocks in a stream.
The forms of the buildings are in harmony with their surroundings, both natural and man-made. They have been shaped in response to view corridors, solar access, wind, visibility and access.
Careful manipulation of the building forms and the creation of sheltered entrances aims to slow passers-by and provide shelter from extreme weather when needed.
The aesthetic qualities of the buildings seek to both connect and contrast with the existing urban fabric with respect and understanding. Heights have been set so as not to dominate the existing buildings."



Façade Concept:

"Both the Bodo Nye Kulturhus and the Bibliotek are clad using the same façade system. The solidity and continuity of the two building’s facades strengthens links across the sites and clearly defines the new cultural precint. The façade emphasises the carved geometries of the buildings by creating large planar surfaces that include subtle creases and directional lines that relate to views, wind and access to light. The interplay of faceted surfaces means the building will take on a wide variety of qualities when viewed from different angles or at different times of the day, whether it’s clear and sunny, overcast or dark."





The Ceramic Tile Panel:

The tiled panel will be approximately 1.5m X 3m. The tiles themselves will be 600mm X 200mm with one splayed edge. When viewed from a distance the large panels will be recognisable and when viewed in close proximity the individual tiles will be more dominant. The tiles themselves may come from Hoganas, the company who made the Sydney Opera House tiles (a homage to Utzon), they will be white ceramic, however some tiles will be lightly pigmented using natural ochres from the regions around Bodo, colours will range from brown, red and yellow. These colours will give the buildings a dynamic quality and a soft elegance that will reflect the surrounding landscapes, sky, buildings and light, in many ways.





Pattern + Shape

The shape of the single tile is an abstraction derived from drying codfish on traditional timber structures (please refer to diagram). Each tile has one splayed edge, the adjacent tile is then rotated 180º to form a rectangle between two tiles. This pattern is then repeated across each panel. From a distance the pattern jumps in scale ,12 tiles form one panel. The panels are placed parallel to the angle of the facets they are on.. This means on each facet the tile pattern creates lines that slightly change in direction, helping reinforce the buildings shape, and referencing the rock formations near the Saltstraumen.




Images: Langdon Reis Zahn

Source: Bustler, ArchDaily
Architect: Langdon Reis Zahn

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Taipei Performing Arts Center proposal by Morphosis

Here's the futuristic design by American firm Morphosis for the Taipei Performing Arts Center which was eventually won by OMA. The Taipei Performing Arts Center is anchored on a round-the-clock cultural axis where the architecture becomes, by virtue of its sculpted and indelible form, a landmark in the region—like a jewel, with distinct facets visible from all corners of the city.



The proposal "celebrates both conceptions of theater: theater as high art, embodied by the sumptuous formal foyers leading to the striking grand theater and the intimate proscenium playhouse; and the inclusiveness of a 'people’s theater,' exemplified by the multiform theater’s overt and deliberate connection to the public. the differentiated form, material language, and spatial layout of each of the three theaters align with their respective roles. each theater’s distinct form in turn directly inflects the form of the overall building envelope and the complex as a whole."

Source: DesignBloom, ArchDaily
Architects: Morphosis

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