A new public project slated for groundbreaking on Sept. 16 will breathe new life into the cityscape of Taichung in central Taiwan.
As its name suggests, the Taichung Green Museumbrary (台中綠美圖) will be a complex serving the purposes of both an art museum and library in a natural setting, said the Taichung City government.
The project has been in the pipeline since the administration of former Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), whose stint lasted from 2001 through 2010. An international design competition for the project held in 2013 drew 225 submissions, the most of any public design contest in Taiwan.
The design contract went to world-renowned Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who co-founded the architectural firm SANAA. The pair was jointly awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2010.
According to the city government, the 2.6-hectare complex, which will house eight white buildings, will be built with the concept of creating “a library in the park and an art museum in the forest.” Surrounded by vast expanses of greenness, the “cultural forest” will bring residents a whole new way to experience reading and visit exhibitions.
Located in the Shuinan Economic and Trade Park (水湳經貿園區) and bordered by Taichung Central Park to the south, the Taichung Green Museumbrary is slated for completion in 2022. The estimated construction cost is NT$3.8 billion (US$120 million), reported the Liberty Times.
By Taiwan News
