Room to grow

Room to

GROW

The Globe Playhouse was designed to resemble “a planet docking against the cube”

PHOTO: SHEPHOTOERD CO. PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF OMA

Could the futuristic, ultra-fl exible architecture of the Taipei Performing Arts Center herald a shake up in the design of performance and exhibition spaces? Magali Robathan takes a look

The futuristic 800-seat theatre aims to be as inclusive and flexible as possible

PHOTO: OMA OMA’s Rem Koolhaas (left) and David Gianotten

The long-awaited Taipei Performing Arts Center is preparing to open in Taiwan.

Led by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten at OMA, the 59,000sq m cultural centre has been designed as a highly flexible space suitable for the most experimental performances, and features “three theatres plugged into a central cube,” according to Gianotten. The theatres can be merged or modified, making them suitable for a whole host of different “unimagined and spontaneous forms.”

The general public can access a Public Loop, which runs through the theatre’s infrastructure production spaces – portal windows allow them to peek at performances inside and technical spaces in between the theatres.

The spherical 800-seat Globe Playhouse, with an inner and an outer shell, “resembles a planet docking against the cube,” according to the architects. The intersection between the inner shell and the cube forms a unique proscenium for experimentation with stage framing. The Grand Theater is a 1,500-seat theatre space for different performing arts genres. Opposite to it, on the same level, is the 840-seat Blue Box for the most experimental performances. When coupled, the two theatres become the Super Theater – a huge, factory-style space that can accommodate productions and events “otherwise only possible in found spaces”.

A new landscaped plaza beneath the theatre offers a further gathering space.

The centre is due to open in August 2022. ●

The Taipei Performing Arts Center is located at the heart of Taipei’s Shilin Night Market