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 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Performing Arts Centers | Jul 18, 2023
Perelman Performing Arts Center will soon open at Ground Zero
In September, New York City will open a new performing arts center in Lower Manhattan, two decades after the master plan for Ground Zero called for a cultural component there. At a cost of $500 million, including $130 million donated by former mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Perelman Performing Arts Center (dubbed PAC NYC) is a 138-foot-tall cube-shaped building that glows at night.
Standards | Jun 26, 2023
New Wi-Fi standard boosts indoor navigation, tracking accuracy in buildings
The recently released Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11az enables more refined and accurate indoor location capabilities. As technology manufacturers incorporate the new standard in various devices, it will enable buildings, including malls, arenas, and stadiums, to provide new wayfinding and tracking features.
Engineers | Jun 14, 2023
The high cost of low maintenance
Walter P Moore’s Javier Balma, PhD, PE, SE, and Webb Wright, PE, identify the primary causes of engineering failures, define proactive versus reactive maintenance, recognize the reasons for deferred maintenance, and identify the financial and safety risks related to deferred maintenance.
Museums | Jun 6, 2023
New wing of Natural History Museums of Los Angeles to be a destination and portal
NHM Commons, a new wing and community hub under construction at The Natural History Museums (NHM) of Los Angeles County, was designed to be both a destination and a portal into the building and to the surrounding grounds.
Performing Arts Centers | Jun 6, 2023
Mumbai, India’s new Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre has three performing arts venues
In Mumbai, India, the recently completed Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) will showcase music, theater, and fine arts from India and from across the globe. Atlanta’s TVS Design served as the principal architect and interior designer of both the cultural center and the larger, adjacent Jio World Centre.
Architects | Jun 6, 2023
Taking storytelling to a new level in building design, with Gensler's Bob Weis and Andy Cohen
Bob Weis, formerly the head of Disney Imagineering, was recently hired by Gensler as its Global Immersive Experience Design Leader. He joins the firm's co-CEO Andy Cohen to discuss how Gensler will focus on storytelling to connect people to its projects.
Green | Apr 21, 2023
Top 10 green building projects for 2023
The Harvard University Science and Engineering Complex in Boston and the Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis are among the AIA COTE Top Ten Awards honorees for 2023.
Urban Planning | Apr 12, 2023
Watch: Trends in urban design for 2023, with James Corner Field Operations
Isabel Castilla, a Principal Designer with the landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, discusses recent changes in clients' priorities about urban design, with a focus on her firm's recent projects.
Architects | Apr 6, 2023
Design for belonging: An introduction to inclusive design
The foundation of modern, formalized inclusive design can be traced back to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The movement has developed beyond the simple rules outlined by ADA regulations resulting in features like mothers’ rooms, prayer rooms, and inclusive restrooms.
