The schematic design has been approved for the 50 000-sm Arrival Hall and Oceanic Pavilion for the Taiwan ChinPaoSan Necropolis.
Set on an ocean-view site 40 minutes from Taipei, the arrival hall and pavilion will serve the historic complex, which has more than 10,000 existing burial sites.
The arrival building will contain a 21-room hotel, restaurant, ceremonial chapel, auditorium, and two small museums. The new pavilion will accommodate 1,000 people for ceremonial days, as well as 50 presiding Buddhist monks conducting ceremonies. The plan also features an adjoining amphitheater with seating for 5,000.
Design Concept
After exploring more than 30 schemes in a search for sacred space for the site, watercolor drawings of intersecting circles with their inherent universal properties and suggestive circulation typologies gradually became intersecting spheres. Model studies, which yielded amazing overlapping perspectives, created an astonishing spatial energy.
The geometry of intersected spheres refers back to a rich ancient history of symbolism. Borromean Rings appeared in Buddhist Art, Viking rune-stones, and Roman mosaics thousands of years ago. Christians have also used this symbol to portray or represent the unity of the Holy Trinity. Borromean Rings also represent the karmic laws of the universe and the interconnectedness of life. In the I Ching, the earth is represented as a square and the heavens as a circle.
In our design, the intersecting spheres are embedded in a rectangular plan topped by a sheet of water, pulling the ocean horizon into the composition. Photovoltaic cells sit inches below this water sheet providing 60% of the electricity for both buildings. The cooling via the water increases the photovoltaic efficiency by 20%.
Natural light is brought into the building section via openings in the intersecting spheres. Urn shelving, which occupies most of the building’s section, is arranged in different typologies: radial, circular, and orthogonal.
Construction of the Oceanic Pavilion is in white concrete with black granite floors. Hinoki wood is used for doors and partitions. Ceremonial areas are treated in translucent alabaster and gold-leaf.
The arrival building, with its 21-room hotel and restaurant, takes the shape of the allotted plot extruded into four levels with spherical subtractions.
Construction of the 500,000-sf complex will begin in May 2015.
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Danish design firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects joins Perkins+Will
Partnership expands Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s capacity for international growth; complements Perkins+Will’s design philosophy and strengthens the firm’s cultural practice.
Hotel Facilities | Jan 24, 2018
U.S. hotel markets with the largest construction pipelines
Dallas, Houston, and New York lead the way, with more than 460 hotel projects in the works.
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Strong finish for architecture billings in 2017
The Architecture Billings Index concluded the year in positive terrain, with the December reading capping off three straight months of growth in design billings.
Architects | Jan 19, 2018
CTBUH announces global finalist projects for annual awards program
The Lotte World Tower, in Seoul, and 150 N. Riverside, in Chicago, are among the finalists.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
NELSON and FRCH Design Worldwide are merging
Their chief executives will manage the company jointly, by region.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
7 steps to ending a low growth cycle
Here are the top 10 marketing techniques as rated by high-growth firms and how they compare to their no-growth counterparts.
Architects | Jan 8, 2018
ZGF Founding Partner Robert Frasca, 84, passes away
Frasca was a driving force in transforming the architectural firm from its early beginnings as a regional office into one of the nation’s largest practices, with 600 design professionals across six offices in the U.S. and Canada.
Architects | Jan 8, 2018
Catherine Selby joins Dattner Architects’ partners group
Selby joins Principals Paul Bauer AIA; Richard Dattner FAIA; Jeff Dugan AIA; Beth Greenberg AIA; Daniel Heuberger AIA, LEED AP; Kirsten Sibilia Assoc. AIA; William Stein FAIA; and John Woelfling AIA, LEED AP in leading the 115-person firm.
Big Data | Jan 5, 2018
In the age of data-driven design, has POE’s time finally come?
At a time when research- and data-based methods are playing a larger role in architecture, there remains a surprisingly scant amount of post-occupancy research. But that’s starting to change.