Wooden Wave Cultural Center, Taiwan Building Design, Taiwanese Architecture

Wooden Wave Cultural Center, Taiwan

Taiwanese Building Proposal – design by TheeAe LTD.

19 Jun 2013

Taiwan Cultural Center

Design: TheeAe Ltd

Location: Taiwan

A building shaped like a wave…we’ve seen buildings evoking ships and boats, and recently quite a few waves (for example Zaha Hadid’s Riverside Museum in Glasgow), but this is a wooden wave frozen in time and dissected…in other words not really a wave at all. Metaphors are very popular in Far East architecture, an attempt to find meaning through form that can be dangerous. Why? Because if you get it wrong it becomes an empty ‘soundbite’ that can weaken a major use of resources and a focus for community, with serious consequences. The architects describe their process in this way, “Designing the cultural center was a task to reveal what could be the image of modern and contemporary Taiwan Architecture. Cultural center is a good place to express the identity of the Taiwan.”

Adrian Welch, e-architect Editor

image from architect

Wooden Wave Cultural Center Design Proposal

We believe change or new is not a sole creation from nothing but rather evolution from the past. Designing the cultural center was a task to reveal what could be the image of modern and contemporary Taiwan Architecture. Cultural center is a good place to express the identity of the Taiwan.

image from architect

In respect of the past architecture, the main idea was driven by its elements in historical buildings which have had its form of curve, wooden structure, prolonged canopies and so on. The overall geometry was created as if it follows the beauty of the nature.

image from architect

So, the ideas of the new cultural center have its beauty of extended and cantilevered canopy with curved roof area. Its style and materials are generated from the traditional elements as much as Taiwanese would easily find and feel comfortable with its usual elements in their past.

image from architect

As Taiwan is the place where very hot summer continues more than 5 months per year, the design of covered area is very much necessary in the region. The inclined walls or upside down distorted pyramid walls will simply create enough shade for people to use the facilities underneath them and approach to the entrance area.

image from architect

Furthermore, its wooden curved façade is clad to the internal structure system to avoid the direct sunlight also the interior structure inclined each other to create unique spatial moments through its structure system.

image from architect