zaha hadid architects unveils stepping skyscraper to rise over historic post office in taipei

a fluted tower for taipei’s Beimen district

Zaha Hadid Architects and C.Y. Lee & Partners will design the National Innovation, Creativity and Finance Center in Taipei, a 175,000 square meter complex that brings together the city’s stock exchange, futures exchange, and depository and clearing corporation within a single public-facing development in the Beimen district.

The site sits at the junction of Zhongxiao West Road and Bo’ai Road, where foot traffic from Taipei Main Station flows past the Beimen Gate and the historic post office. Because trains, buses, and the MRT converge within a few minutes’ walk, the project has an everyday intensity shaped by commuters and office workers.

Into this dense weave, the new skyscraper will introduce plazas, passages, and shaded edges that extend the street network through the block as a sequence of ‘outdoor rooms’ that feel continuous with the surrounding sidewalks.

visualizations © X Universe Visual Design

zaha hadid architects links heritage and contemporary design

Urban guidelines call for improved walkability and stronger public space, and the proposal by Zaha Hadid Architects responds with a ground plane organized as a connected landscape for the people of Taipei.

With courtyards and pedestrian paths, the architects stitch together existing landmarks while preserving long views toward the historic Beimen Gate and neighboring streetscapes. Movement across the site carries the rhythm of the city, with entrances placed along major routes to draw people inward without ceremony.

Along the eastern edge, the restored Taipei Beimen Post Office from 1930 remains in place, its masonry facade and decorative detailing carefully maintained. The former postal building will become a museum and cultural venue to link with the district’s memory. Between old and new, a glazed canopy shelters a large courtyard where performances and public gatherings can take place.

Zaha Hadid Architects will design the National Innovation Creativity and Finance Center in Taipei

botanical inspiration for a ribbed tower

Set back from the heritage building, Zaha Hadid Architect’s 47-story tower rises over Taipei with a stepped profile. Its form draws on the fluted geometry of the native Phalaenopsis orchid, translated into vertical ribs that articulate the facade. From the street, these pleats cast shifting shadows that change through the day, giving the surface depth and scale that temper the height of the building.

The facade system integrates environmental performance with this geometry. Pleated panels modulate solar gain and guide airflow across the surface, supporting interior comfort in Taipei’s humid subtropical climate. The team at ZHA has long explored expressive envelopes that serve both form and function, and here that approach appears measured and intentional.

a network of plazas, courtyards, and walkways extends public space throughout the block