ICE: taipei pop music center proposal

outdoor stage all images courtesy of ICE

ideas for contemporary environments (ICE) believes that pop culture is the culture of change, so pop architecture is the space of change. for their proposal of the taipei pop music centre, rather than design a building, they wanted to develop a platform for spontaneous activities: a street, a park, a network of pedestrian circulation, all embedded within an architectural framework. their strategy was to define the space through 3 different elements:

the first being the event space concentrating on music activities, connecting the indoor and outdoor auditorium through the stage area. second is an urban street park, the promenade of the project which extends from the main xinsheng road into the building. the space is for sudden and unplanned activities such as street music and jam sessions. the park is the third element which connects the entire site as a leisure zone. it is the spill over area during events as well as a leisure zone for residents.

the taipei park music centre provides an urban street park connecting the ground to the upper floor, through a landscaped ground. during major events, the street transforms into a parade ground for music. the music center complex lies in the center of the facility and consists of an indoor auditorium and an outdoor arena. connected to the stage area, it has the potential to create a super-stage for very large events. the outdoor arena is embedded into a 3-dimensional park/mountain, which acts as the green heart of the district.

from the street

exhibition and performance spaces will be accessed by the urban street park. they are located above and below, and extend onto the landscape of the building. this allows the program to spill out onto the public space, in order to address a larger audience. the urban street park is the extended public space of all events, connecting the city and the music center. as a horizonal landscape of the structure is meant to be an urban center for the neighbourhood and the city.

approach from the west