RUR Architecture has finished the Taipei Music Center (TMC), turning a 22-acre (9-hectare) site into a new urban arts district. The New York-based firm’s design took over a decade of planning and construction, as it both reflected and helped shape the post-industrial revival of Taipei.
Conceived as a City of Pop Music, the TMC is a hybrid and multipurpose site dedicated to the performance, production, and celebration of Asian pop music. TMC has three main buildings: the Concert Hall, the Cultural Cube, and the Creative Hub. A new elevated public ground bridges the north and south sites, bringing the three buildings together. The building program also includes three live-houses that allow for simultaneous performances and support new talent with intimate concerts.
The project’s centerpiece—the 756,000-square-foot Concert Hall—is designed for both indoor and outdoor performances. Inside, it can seat 6,000 people; outside in the public plaza, it can accommodate several hundred. A faceted double skin, made of an anodized aluminum cladding outer layer and a gypsum wall inner layer, wraps around and encloses the auditorium. The Performance Hall features state-of-the-art technology, from the acoustics and lighting to eco-friendly heating and cooling systems.
The design has interwoven the buildings into the natural surroundings and the city fabric. The expansive geometric volumes are meant to mirror the nearby mountains, connecting the structure with its environment.
Building Team:
Design architect: RUR
Architect of record: Fei and Cheng Associates, Taipei
Structural engineer (schematic design): ARUP, Hong Kong
Structural engineer (detailed design): Supertek, Taiwan
Facade consultant: Meinhardt Façade Technology, Shanghai
Theater, acoustics consultants: ARUP, Hong Kong
Landscape architect: The Environmental Arts Design Company, Taiwan
Lighting consultant: RDG, Taiwan
![TMC urban arts district ext 2](/sites/default/files/inline-images/TMC%20urban%20arts%20district%20ext%202.jpg)
![TMC urban arts district ext 3](/sites/default/files/inline-images/TMC%20urban%20arts%20district%20ext%203.jpg)
Related Stories
| Jul 1, 2013
Report: Global construction market to reach $15 trillion by 2025
A new report released today forecasts the volume of construction output will grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 25, 2013
Mirvish, Gehry revise plans for triad of Toronto towers
A trio of mixed-use towers planned for an urban redevelopment project in Toronto has been redesigned by planners David Mirvish and Frank Gehry. The plan was announced last October but has recently been substantially revised.
| Jun 25, 2013
DC commission approves Gehry's redesign for Eisenhower memorial
Frank Gehry's updated for a new Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial in Washington, D.C., has been approved by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, reports the Washington Post. The commission voted unanimously to approve the $110 million project, which has been gestating for 14 years.
| Jun 17, 2013
DOE launches database on energy performance of 60,000 buildings
The Energy Department today launched a new Buildings Performance Database, the largest free, publicly available database of residential and commercial building energy performance information.
| Jun 14, 2013
First look: Callebaut's eye-popping Möbius building for Taichung arts center
French design firm Vincent Callebaut Architectures has released renderings of "Swallow's Nest," an entry in a design competition for a new cultural center, fine arts museum, and public library in Taichung City, Taiwan. The building, based on a Möbius ring, swirls around a central "Endless Patio."
| Jun 13, 2013
7 great places that represent excellence in environmental design
An adaptive reuse to create LEED Platinum offices, a park that honors veterans, and a grand national plaza are among the seven projects named winners of the 2013 Great Places Awards. The Environmental Design and Research Association recognize professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design, with special attention paid to the relationship between physical form and human activity or experience.
| Jun 12, 2013
5 building projects that put the 'team' in teamwork
The winners of the 2013 Building Team Awards show that great buildings cannot be built without the successful collaboration of the Building Team.
| Jun 11, 2013
Music/dance building supports sweet harmony [2013 Building Team Award winner]
A LEED Gold project enhances a busy Chicago neighborhood, meeting ambitious criteria for acoustical design and adaptability.
| Jun 7, 2013
First look: Austin breaks ground on 'light-filled' Central Library
The design scheme by Lake|Flato and Shepley Bulfinch incorporates reading "porches" and a light-filled, six-story atrium.