rotating cantilevered structure transforms taipei fine arts museum store into a dynamic space

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.

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.

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.

testing the cantilever structure

the harmony between the store and lighting

the store can be transformed into a performance piece, relating itself to the gift shop items

structural details to the original 70s museum building

hidden lighting detail

a sneak peek of the ceiling hung rotational shelf in front of the old ticket entrance window

testing the cantilever structure

 side view of the cantilever

shelving can be easily moved to different positions

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)

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