Taiwan’s new landmark, TAIPEI PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, designed by OMA, to open in summer 2022

Considered the most important cultural development in Asia in 2022, the Taipei Performing Arts Center will open its doors to the public in the summer of 2022. The spectacular new monument in the capital of Taiwan will become the epicenter of the vibrant contemporary culture of the world. island where no subject or technical request is prohibited. .

Commissioned by the Taipei City Government to foster the development of the arts, the center was designed by a global team from the renowned architectural firm, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), headed by architect Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten , winner of the Pritzker Prize. , in collaboration with the local architecture firm KRIS YAO | ARTECH and the engineering company Arup.

The 59,000 square meter monumental complex floats above the hustle and bustle of Taipei’s famous Shilin Night Market, renowned for its vibrant street life and as an international foodie destination. The futuristic design breaks the standardized model of contemporary theaters and embraces inclusiveness, reflecting the liveliness and openness of Taipei and its people.

The Taipei Performing Arts Center features three trendy theaters on a raised central cube that invites city street life to the spot. The 800-seat spherical pre-stage theater, Globe Playhouse, resembles a planet docked against the cube. The Grand Theater is a 1,500-seat space for a wide variety of performing arts genres. Opposite and on the same level is the multifaceted 800-seat theater, Blue Box, for the most experimental performances. When paired, the two theaters become the 2,300-seat Super Theater, a huge space with factory quality. Equipped with facilities to meet the most demanding pyrotechnic requirements of contemporary theater, the spaces have been specially designed to offer new theatrical opportunities.

The general public, with or without a ticket, is invited to the center through a public loop that runs through the theater’s infrastructure and production spaces, generally out of sight. Portal windows along the loop allow visitors to peer into the performances and technical spaces between theaters.

The Taipei Performing Art Center will become the new home for Taiwan’s many performing arts groups that encompass cutting-edge theater, contemporary dance, musical theater, traditional opera and puppet theater, children’s theater and will serve laboratory for experiments with crossed art forms and new creations.

Liu Ruo-yu, Chairman of Taipei Performing Arts Center, said, “OMA has created for Taipei a world-class arts center for the world. We look forward to welcoming audiences as well as artists from around the world to work with Taiwanese artists to create new works that address the most pressing issues facing our time. We hope that Taiwan learns from the world through these international collaborations, as the world better understands the history, culture and people of Taiwan. ‘

Austin Wang, CEO of the Taipei Performing Arts Center, said, “The opening of the Taipei Performing Arts Center is an important step in making Taipei an international hub for cultural arts. What started as an idea in 1997 and evolved into a visual concept conceived by OMA in 2007, is now an exciting reality for 2022 for all of our audiences. Our mission is to become the center of creativity for contemporary life in Taiwan, where diverse talents and perspectives across generations can mingle and flourish. ‘

David Gianotten, Managing Partner – Architect of OMA, said: “With three theaters connected to a central cube and a public loop, the Taipei Performing Arts Center creates new internal mechanisms of performance spaces, inspiring unimaginable theatrical possibilities. It is a new type of theater allowing artists, audiences and audiences to explore creative life in innovative ways. ‘

Rem Koolhaas, Founding Partner of OMA, said, “Taipei has a unique type of creative energy that spans all aspects of life. The Taipei Performing Arts Center, formed with a strong technical core and the most emotional theaters docked against it in mutual dependence, both embodies a new organization for the theater and functions as a fresh and intelligent icon that epitomizes the creativity of the city.