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
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Dec 16, 2020
Download a PDF of all 2020 Giants 400 Rankings
This 70-page PDF features AEC firm rankings across 51 building sectors, disciplines, and specialty services.
Giants 400 | Dec 3, 2020
2020 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
AECOM, Arup, and Populous head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2020 Giants 400 Report.
Government Buildings | Nov 13, 2020
Tax shortfalls nip government projects in the bud
Federal contracts are proceeding, but states and cities are delaying, deferring, and looking for private investment.
Cultural Facilities | Oct 13, 2020
Thailand’s Elephant Museum reinforces the bond between humans and beasts
The complex, in Surin Province, was built with 480,000 clay bricks.
Libraries | Sep 25, 2020
Major renovation to Providence’s downtown library is completed
The $29 million project adds light and collaborative space to a 67-year-old wing.
Cultural Facilities | Sep 24, 2020
America's 11 most endangered historic places - 2020 list
Annually, this list spotlights important examples of our nation’s architectural and cultural heritage that, without applied action and immediate advocacy, will be destroyed or face irreparable damage.
Giants 400 | Aug 28, 2020
2020 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
The 2020 Giants 400 Report features more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Cultural Facilities | Jun 19, 2020
A new ULI report chronicles the depaving of America
Fifteen examples of how parks and green spaces emerged from parking lots, garages, and underpasses.
Libraries | Jan 23, 2020
Information or community center: The next generation of libraries must be both
Are libraries still relevant in a digital world?
Cultural Facilities | Dec 4, 2019
Snøhetta wins competition to design maritime center in Esbjerg, Denmark
The project’s design was developed with WERK Arkitekter.