J.C. architecture designed ‘a little museum store’, a small museum shop with a rotating cantilevered structure inside the taipei fine arts museum lobby in taiwan. in the 1960s, architect kao built the taipei fine arts museum using the core structure of the building as the load-bearing device and developing diverse ways to explore the space. the whole floor of the taipei fine arts museum is more than 24,169 sqm, but a little museum store is only 45 sqm, located in the corner of the lobby.

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 1
all images courtesy of J.C. architecture
a little corner museum store

 

 

J.C. architecture’s challenge was to take that 45 sqm corner inside the 24,169 sqm museum and make the biggest impact possible with it. while occupying only 0.2% of the museum, the design drastically changed the movement and structure of the lobby giving a fresh perspective to different visitors each time. the architects created something new but kept the memory emphasizing the window of the original booth. it not only stands for a simple shop but also the history of the taipei fine arts museum.

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 4
all 10 arms are free to move into different positions

 

 

they adopted the metabolism concept as a way to better visualize the design of the gift shop and to further develop the original concept of the building. through stacking the movable cantilever structures, J.C. architecture created an interesting element that provides spatial flexibility. when people spin the cantilevers into different directions, it extends outward and the creation of a totally different space appears. it is another large-scale artwork that spontaneously and playfully lays out into the taipei fine arts museum lobby.

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 6
testing the cantilever structure

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 7
the harmony between the store and lighting

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 8
the store can be transformed into a performance piece, relating itself to the gift shop items

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 9
structural details to the original 70s museum building

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 10
hidden lighting detail

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 11
a sneak peek of the ceiling hung rotational shelf in front of the old ticket entrance window

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 12
testing the cantilever structure

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 3
 side view of the cantilever

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 2
shelving can be easily moved to different positions

a little museum store_taipei fine arts museum store designed by j c architecture 5

the plan of a little museum store

 

 

project info:

 

name: a little museum store

architects: J.C. architects

team: johnny chiu (lead designer), nora wang (lead designer), marisa cheng (team designer)

location: taipei, taiwan

area: 45 sqm (484.376 sqft)

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom