Sound Cave -National Taichung Theater II ⋆ 貓女Teresa

My dear friends, do you remember I introduce the appearance of National Taichung Theater? If you haven’t seen my post The 9th Worldwide Landmark -National Taichung Theater I, I will suggest you read it first so that you will have an idea of the National Taichung Theater.

內容摘要

❤️ Curve Wall Structure ❤️

When you enter the National Taichung Theater, I believe that everyone’s first impression will be: Wow! The structure is so special!

In the interior of the building, there is almost no straight wall. The whole building has no traditional beams and columns to support it, making full use of curved surfaces, holes, and so on. With the idea of “Sound Cave” created this styling avantgarde and unique exhibition space. In the theater, I feel like I’m in a primitive cave or in the body of an organic creature, with a mysterious atmosphere of adventure in an unknown space.

The main body of the building consists of 58 curved walls and 29 caves. The special method is used to shape the steel bars into curved shapes. Each wall has 1372 units, each piece must be custom-made. After the shaping is completed, concrete is injected to build a 40 cm thick wall so as to support the entire building body, which is the double-sided curved wall we have seen.

臺中國家歌劇院-從歌劇院門口仰望藍天 — source: Official Website

When I first saw the design concept, there was a lot of doubt in my heart. The design seems so dreamlike and unreal. I can’t stop thinking if it is really possible. At the beginning, the Japanese architectural community thought that this building could not be completed. But after sophisticated calculations and repeated tests, it finally becomes possible and is built by the construction team of Taiwan. The “Curved Wall” method has also obtained the world patent certification for construction law. In 2018, It also won the Good Design Award, which was regarded as “Oriental Design Oscar”.

The interior of the National Taichung Theater is mainly pure white walls, but it can be found that space is separated by brightly colored indigo and bright red. The Red area belongs to the Grand Theater, and indigo is the main color of the Playhouse.

The posters of current performances are hung on the ceiling. You can purchase tickets on the Internet or purchase at the front desk here. The irregular hollow holes on the counter can be seen with similar elements everywhere in the theater.

Because of the special design of the curved wall structure, the audience can hear the sound effects exactly the same at every position in the theater. And the space design of the theater also makes every viewer’s eyes have no dead ends. You can clearly see every corner of the stage.

❤️ Cloud Gate ❤️

The continuous curved wall forms a cave-shaped passage and is named “Yunmen”(cloud gate). It is called Cloud Gate because you can see the stacked arches which are as beautiful as the clouds at some angles. There is a sense of security you will feel to be covered and protected when you are in this curved channel. Perhaps the mammals, like the human, subconsciously have deep memory in the mother’s womb?!

The curved shape of the ceiling and the star-shaped LED lights keep the styling elements inside the theater.

I really like the design of the signs here, whether the black or white lines, simple and stylish. Look closely, these graphics that appear to be printed on the pillars are actually three-dimensional, even the signs of the toilet are represented by lines.

❤️ Intoxicating Stream ❤️

Remember the intoxicating stream I mentioned before? The waterway outside the theater connects the inside and outside and breaks through the barrier of the wall. In the theater, you can see the clear blue stream too. Be careful not to step on it. ~~Yes, I am talking about me!~~

❤️ Spiraling Staircase ❤️

The roundabout stairs look luxurious. 2F~5F stairs are covered with red carpet.

source: Official Website

❤️ Water Curtain Fire Protection System ❤️

The National Taichung Theater also pays great attention to public safety. It uses a worldwide patented water curtain fire protection system on 1F. Once there is a fire concern, the fire sprinkler will spray a water column, and a whole row of water columns will form a water curtain, which will separate the fire area from other areas to cool down and prevent diffusion.

source: Official Website

❤️ Cuckoo’s home ❤️

The name sounds so cute! Is it the famous Kuckucksuhr? Actually, this is 2F fire fighting equipment. Unlike the water curtain on 1F, the second floor uses movable discharge sprinklers. There is a fine infrared temperature measuring system. As long as the high temperature is detected, a strong water column will be ejected against the fire point, and the source of the fire will be extinguished directly. Does it sound great?!

source: Official Website

❤️ Drape Curtain ❤️

The curved wall design of the theater makes the sound convey no dead ends, but it also causes the sound to linger and form an echo when the huge crowd visit. Therefore, the second floor is covered with heavy carpets. The elegant and generous curtain designed by Japanese fabric designer Ando Yoko. in addition to aesthetics, can effectively achieve the effect of sound absorption. The drape curtain is designed the texture of wood, maintaining the architect’s style of combining architectural and natural elements.

❤️ Radiant Cooling Floor ❤️

When you see this picture, you will probably wonder why Teresa takes the picture of the drainage hole? I am confused too when I saw the holes on the ground.

In fact, this is a specially designed air conditioning system. The curved wall has no way to install a general air-conditioning system. Therefore, Toyo Ito used this special ground air conditioner to embed a curved ice water pipeline under the ground. This hole is the air outlet of the radiant cooling floor. The cold wind will remain within 2 meters of the ground, just the height of a person, in order to maintain a comfortable temperature.

The air conditioner in the Grand Theater is also very particular. The air conditioner in the theater is under the chair. As long as the audience sits on the chair, the air conditioning system will start. In order to make the air conditioning system perform the best results, they also spent a lot of effort to find the proper ventilation material.

After reading my post, do you think that a good architectural design needs a lot of details which is beyond people’s imagination? In the next post, I will take you to explore more about the internal details of the National Taichung Theater.