Taipei City holds TPAC beam-raising ceremony

2014-09-01

A beam-raising ceremony marking completion of the structural frames for Taipei Performing Arts Center was held Aug. 27, underscoring city government efforts to transform the metropolis into a mecca of culture and design.

“The center will establish Taipei as a new cultural hub in the global Chinese community, helping attract top-notch artists and art aficionados from home and abroad,” Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said at the ceremony. “It is also set to boost the city’s profile as a world design capital for lovers of architecture.”

Designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Rem Koolhaas, the NT$5.4 billion (US$180 million) TPAC is situated on a 2-hectare site next to the Shihlin Night Market. Its eye-catching dome and square-shaped main structure will enhance Taipei’s skyline and complements nearby National Palace Museum and Shilin Official Residence of late President Chiang Kai-shek.

Koolhaas, also founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said the structure’s exterior resembles the shape of local delicacy century egg tofu. “It is extremely important to blend modern designs with local cultures.”

The Dutch architect’s past projects include Faena Arts Center in Florida and Qingdao Cultural and Arts Centre in mainland China.

Echoing Koolhaas’s remarks, Kris Yao, co-builder of the center and founder of Taipei City-based Kris Yao Artech, said TPAC represents leading-edge developments in performance-focused architecture.

“The center’s three theaters boast a total capacity of 3,350 seats, and two can be combined for larger shows,” he said. “We are confident audiences and performers alike will be overjoyed with the acoustics and unimpeded views.”

According to Taipei City Government, construction of TPAC is scheduled to be completed in 2015, with trials commencing the following year.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221164&CtNode=413)