The large-scale task set by the client for the architects was to create a new center for pop music not only for the island, but for the entire East Asian region. This 7.65-hectare complex should take Taiwan's music industry to a new, international level.
When working on the Reiser + Umemoto project, we proceeded from the assumption that pop music is a global phenomenon, but here, in Taiwan, it acquires specific regional features, combining different dialects and ethnic communities within the framework of the Chinese language.
This mixture of styles and national characteristics is reflected in the presence in the project of various multifunctional zones and vast public spaces with cafes, shops and markets. Such a solution should provide a round-the-clock revival in the center.
The main square is raised above the highway cut in two. The main auditorium with 3,000 seats will be located nearby, connected to an office tower intended for tenants from the music industry. Thus, a "cultural incubator" of artists, producers and other representatives of the pop music field should be created.
The complex also includes the Hall of Fame, which functions not only as a museum and educational center (with two lecture halls), but also as a venue for social events and small live performances.
The third key object of the Pop Music Center will be an open amphitheater, "a hybrid of a circus and a city", equipped with a mobile stage "Automatic Theater". Thanks to its movement around the amphitheater, it is possible to hold performances of various scales, up to massive ones, with 16,000 spectators. All buildings of the complex will be closed with a network that protects them from the sun during the day, while at night it will glow with the help of LED lamps.
The second place in the competition was taken by Studio Gang, which proposed to build an open theater "Okulus" and the main hall surrounded by the park for the Center.
The third prize went to Office dA, which reflected its perception of Taipei as an "open city" in its multipart project.
