marco casagrande: cicada
‘cicada’ by marco casagrande in taipei, taiwan image © adDaall images courtesy marco casagrande
‘cicada’ by finnish architect marco casagrande is a cocoon-like spatial installation in a highly industrial region of taipei, taiwan. conceived as ‘urban acupuncture’ for the city, the bamboo structure loosely envelopes an organic volume which responds to the human scale. measuring 34 meters in length, the inhabitable shelter sits on a small strip of green amidst busy roads and an elevated train track. the surrounding ground features a oval footprint of broken rocks and concrete, defining a walkway that eventually leads to the entrance of the installation. strips of bamboo are woven through a simple criss crossing armature, resulting in a permeable shell that filters sunlight into the interior. the ambience of the city remains present but diluted within the structure.
view of site from above image © adDa
exterior view image © adDa
image © adDa
undulating slightly in its height, ‘cicada’ is designed to perform as a public forum for visitors. the layout is loose and accommodating, revolving around a central fireplace situated under an aperture in the roof. small benches provide flexible seating along the length of the installation.
interior view image © adDa
fireplace image © adDa
seating and firewood image © adDa
climbing plants image © adDa
interior at night image © adDa
image © adDa
image © adDa
night view image © adDa
sketch of site
plan
sectional rendering
project info:
length: 34 m width: 12 m height: 8 m interior area: 270 sqm
client: JUT land development group architect: marco casagrande design team: frank chen, yu-chen chiu, shreya nagrath, arijit sen project manager: nikita wu
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it’a alive!
Looks more like twisting your whole mind setting, not only your ankles – FANTASTIC! And this in the middle of a city … GOOD TAIPEI!!! Never seen anything like this; is this a new style? How is an architect from Finland anyhow working so confidently with bamboo in Taiwan? Hmm…
Masterpiece!
The images lack the inhabitants necessary to give a sense of human scale to this amorphous space. Would people trip or twist their ankles on the rocks? Beautiful structure, but generally ill-conceived.