Taipei’s New Music Center as 24/7 Destination
From RUR’s Competition Winning Design to Final Realization
RUR Taipei Pop Music Center performance hall view with artwork ©Philip Colbert
Whether large or small, design competition or straight commission, projects from design phase to realization can stretch over extended periods of time. It was no different with Taipei’s Pop Music Center, which took over ten years from idea to final realization before the project could serve as a creative art complex.
The Competition Entry
Aerial view of 2009 competition entry ©RUR Reiser+Umemoto
Section of 2009 competition entry showing performance venue ©RUR Reiser+Umemoto
The product of a design competition won by RUR Reiser + Umemoto with local firm Fei and Cheng over a number of high profile firms—Morphosis, Toyo Ito, Studio Gang, etc.—the team’s original concept underwent significant changes during a development phase. The most notable among these was the creation of a stand-alone performance hall venue, which previously had been the major part of a structure containing other functions. The other noticeable change from the initial proposal was a revision of the moving stage on the plinth, which was intended to accommodate different size audiences based on the performers, to a stationary structure housing offices and rehearsal/production studios.
Development design rendering 2017 ©RUR Reiser+Umemoto
Completed Project 2022
Housed in a newly conceived clamshell-styled structure, the concert hall, with an audience capacity of almost 6,000, received the highest priority as the first building in the project to be targeted for construction. It was conveniently connected by an elevated footbridge to the remaining pieces of the project—the museum, offices and recording studios that were perched on the plinth. Recently completed, the entire project can now be experienced by the public. For a project with this complexity, where the lead architect is operating from a distance, especially during the current pandemic, the existence of the local team member, Fei and Cheng, was a fortunate choice. RUR is convinced that the project would never have happened without the important role played by their local partner.
Taipei Pop Music Center aerial view ©RUR Reiser+Umemoto
Final site plan RUR Reiser + Umemoto
Already open as an entertainment and production venue for music, one might assume that the size of audiences at events in the performance hall has more than justified the city’s support of this project. Aside from the physical facilities, an artwork by the English artist, Philip Colbert, suggesting the contemporary nature of the concert venue, is there to greet visitors on the plaza in front of the main performance hall. So public art will also have its place in the visitor’s experience at the site, no doubt pointing to a broader vision of the Center’s mission—not stuck in time, but ever adapting to the currents of change in our ever evolving arts scene. In every sense, RUR’s innovative concept, serving as a vessel for entertainment, education and creativity, is well on its way to addressing the high expectations of the Taipei arts community.
The Performance Hall
With its sophisticated lighting program, spatial configuration and contemporary design, the Performance Hall has hit the right note, and as a stand-alone entity, marks it as a logical destination for pop fans and beyond.
View to Performance Hall with pedestrian bridge
Performance Hall stage
left to right © ©raymond.lu.10
photo ©dj.jeffhuang
Above: Performance Hall interiors
Above: Ground floor plan
Above: Elevation
The Office/Studio and Museum structures
Above: Offices and rehearsal studios
Photo: ©fafabearlife
Above: Overhead view of plinth with museum and office/rehearsal studios, with bridge link to Performance Hall upper left
Above: Museum perspectives
Unless otherwise noted, all images ©RUR Reiser+ Umemoto
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Completed IMEX by Tuck Hinton Architects. Photo courtesy Anecdote It is not often that we look back to a competition that occurred three decades ago that was also covered in detail by COMPETITIONS (Vol. 4, #4; pp. 14-27). What made the Chattanooga IMAX different back in 1994 was that the article covering that competition was authored by Prof. Marleen Davis, then Dean of the University of Tennessee’s School of Architecture and a member of the jury panel. This was not just a short article, covering the high points of the competition with a few talking points about the winning design. This 4,000+ word document also described in detail the jury’s observations about all the finalists, including the honorable mentions—one of the few times we have gained such a detailed glimpse in this country from the inside of the competition process. Read more… Preparation and Organization of Design Competitions [phase 1] Benjamin Hossbach / Christian Lehmhaus / Christine Eichelmann 210 × 230 mm, 192 pp. over 600 images softcover ISBN 978-3-86922-316-2 (English) ISBN 978-3-86922-240-0 (German) Dom Publishers €48 in EU (For price abroad, see below) Founded in 1998 in Berlin, Phase 1 has been a principal player in the organization and facilitation of design competitions, not only in Germany, but abroad as well. The accomplishments of the firm have been well documented in three volumes—The Architecture of Competitions—beginning in 2i006. Whereas these books mainly focused on the results of the competitions they have administered, the present work, Fundamentals of Competition Management, takes one from the very beginnings of the competition process to its conclusion. The authors envisioned the publication as “three three books in one: one „blue book“ with example projects, one „yellow book“ with statements and the „white book“ with the actual guideline to competition management.” Although there have been a number of handbooks covering the administration of designcompetitions a study covering the entire process in such detail is a welcome addition to the the literature in this field. As a contribution to this important democratic process that has yielded exceptional design for decades, this volume is not only valid for Europe, but a current overview of the process for those globally who wish to raise the level of design by virtue of a design competition. -Ed Foreign institutions wishing to obtain a copy of the book will recieve a discount to cover the cost of foreign shipping. To obtain a copy for that offer, go to: [email protected] Winning entry by Luca Poian Forms Image ©Filippo Bolognese images Good design seldom happens in a vacuum. And so it was with an international competition for a new mosque in Preston, U.K. A mid-sized city of 95,000, and located in Lancashire near the west coast and almost equally distant from London and Glasgow, Preston has a storied past, going all the way back to the Romans and the late Middle Ages, where it was the site of significant battles. During the Industrial Revolution, the city prospered, and it was not until after World War II that Preston experienced the British version of the U.S. Rust Belt. In the meantime, the city has experienced an upswing in economic activity, with an unemployment rate of only 3%. Aside from the appearance of new industries, the city has benefitted from the establishment of Central Lancashire University (CLU), which employs over 3,000 faculty and staff, and, as such, is one of the regions major employers. Any new university requires new facilities, and one of the most outstanding examples of this at CLU was the new Student Centre and Plaza, a result of a 2016 RIBA-sponsored competition won by Hawkins/Brown Read More
Changdong Station winner – image ©D & B Partners Architects
Whereas international competitions for real projects have become a rarity lately, Korea is a welcome exception. Among the plethora of competition announcements we receive almost weekly, several have ended with foreign firms as winners. But the history of welcoming international participants does go back several years. One notable early example was the Incheon Airport competition, won by Fentress Bradburn Architects (1962-70).
Among the more recent successes of foreign firms was the Busan Opera House competition, won by Snøhetta (2013-) and the Sejong Museum Gardens competition, won by Office OU, Toronto (2016-2023).
Read more… 1st Place: Zaha Hadid Architects – night view from river – Render by Negativ Arriving to board a ferry boat or cruise ship used to be a rather mundane experience. If you had luggage, you might be able to drop it off upon boarding, assuming that the boarding operation was sophisticated enough. In any case, the arrival experience was nothing to look forward to. I recall boarding the SS United States for a trip to Europe in the late 1950s. Arriving at the pier in New York, the only thought any traveler had was to board that ocean liner as soon as possible, find one’s cabin, and start exploring. If you were in New York City and arriving early, a nearby restaurant or cafe would be your best bet while passing time before boarding. Read more… Helsinki Central Library, by ALA Architects (2012-2018) The world has experienced a limited number of open competitions over the past three decades, but even with diminishing numbers, some stand out among projects in their categories that can’t be ignored for the high quality and degree of creativity they revealed. Included among those are several invited competitions that were extraordinary in their efforts to explore new avenues of institutional and museum design. Some might ask why the Vietnam Memorial is not mentioned here. Only included in our list are competitions that were covered by us, beginning in 1990 with COMPETITIONS magazine to the present day. As for what category a project under construction (Science Island), might belong to or fundraising still in progress (San Jose’s Urban Confluence or the Cold War Memorial competition, Wisconsin), we would classify the former as “built” and wait and see what happens with the latter—keeping our fingers crossed for a positive outcome. Read More… 2023 Teaching and Innovation Farm Lab Graduate Student Honor Award by USC (aerial view) Architecture at Zero competitions, which focus on the theme, Design Competition for Decarbonization, Equity and Resilience in California, have been supported by numerous California utilities such as Southern California Edison, PG&E, SoCAl Gas, etc., who have recognized the need for better climate solutions in that state as well as globally. Until recently, most of these competitions were based on an ideas only format, with few expectations that any of the winning designs would actually be realized. The anticipated realization of the 2022 and 2023 competitions suggests that some clients are taking these ideas seriously enough to go ahead with realization. Read more… |