Southern Branch of Taiwan Palace Museum / KRIS YAO | ARTECH


© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio
  • Architects: KRIS YAO | ARTECH
  • Location: No. 888, Gugong Boulevard, Taibao City, Chiayi County, Taiwan
  • Lead Architects: Kris Yao
  • Project Principle: Kuo-Chien Shen
  • Project Manager: Winnie Wang
  • Project Supervisor: Glen Lu, Jun-Ren Chou, Tien-Yu Lo
  • Design Team: Chien-Yi Wu, Lien-Tang Chen, Jake Sun, Frank Lu, Ting-Tseng Shen, Wen-Li Liu, Ting-Fung Ho, Wen-Ling Liao, Miya Yu
  • Inspection Team: Calvin Chen, Yi-Seng Tsai, Jui-Hung Lin, Stanley Liu, Bruce Wu, Jason Lin, Yun-Yi Wang, Hui-Ting Yu, Sam Chuang, Chu-Chun Chang, Hui-Ling Lee、Dawson Hung, Sam Chang, Yi-Ti Tsai, Yu-Ching Chen
  • Area: 38332.69 m2
  • Project Year: 2015
  • Photographs: Shawn Liu Studio, KyleYu, Jeffrey Cheng, Commonwealth Publishing Group
  • Structural Consultants: King – Le Chang & Associates
  • Plumbing, Electrical & Fire Protection: Majestic Engineering Consultants Inc.
  • Hvac Consultants: I. S. Lin & Associates Consulting Engineers
  • Landscape Consultants: CNHW Planning and Design Consultant TOPO Design Group
  • Building Physics Consultants: ARUP
  • Façade Consultants: maRco façade Studio
  • Lighting Consultants: Chroma 33 Architectural Lighting Design
  • Green Architecture Consultants: Taiwan Green Architecture
  • Landscape Bridge Design And Inspection Collaborator: T. Y. Lin Taiwan Consulting Engineers, Inc.
  • Building And Landscape Contractor: Lee Ming Construction Co., Ltd.
  • Building Structure: Steel Structure, Reinforced Concrete
  • Exterior Materials: Cast Aluminum Disk, Glazed Curtain Wall, Low-E Glass, Mosaic Tile
  • Landscape Bridge Contractor: Hua Chou Construction Co., Ltd.

© KyleYu

© KyleYu

Text description provided by the architects. Composed of three distinct fluid forms, each represents inspiration from the three Chinese calligraphy strokes: the thick ink, the half-dry and the smearing, the Palace Museum Southern Branch will present itself as an ink-dark, sensuous sculptural form sitting within the surrounding green rice and sugar cane fields.


Floor Plans. Image Courtesy of KRIS YAO | ARTECH

Floor Plans. Image Courtesy of KRIS YAO | ARTECH

The three forms also contain different functions: due to sensitivity of natural light level for the artifacts, the solid form houses the curatorial department and exhibition halls; the glass-and-steel “void” volume facilitates museum lobby, café, library and administration offices; the third smearing stroke flows through intersecting solid and void forms, linking various spaces with smooth circulation pattern.


© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

Visitors arrive at the gate of the museum site will have a glance of the main building across the lake. After crossing a curved pedestrian bridge, which is an integral part of the architecture design, one would pass under the glass volume and arrive at a tranquil bamboo courtyard before entering into the museum building.


© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

In the grand lobby, large glass curtain wall frames the views of the lake and landscape. A grand stairway gently rises up and leads visitors to the orientation room where the glass volume hits the solid volume as the exhibitions unfold.


© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

The exterior of the solid form is composed of more than 36,000 pieces of cast aluminum “disks” attached to the curved surfaces, depicting ancient bronze dragon and cloud patterns using modern digitized design. As the sun moves, the reflection from the disks will reveal a “moving” dragon in the clouds on this uniquely designed façade.


© Shawn Liu Studio

© Shawn Liu Studio

© Jeffrey Cheng

© Jeffrey Cheng