Five mountain-shaped inkstones with a green belt: Taiwan Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center

Concept Taiwan Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center,Taiwan's first public art museum with calligraphy themes, is located on the bank of the pond in Taoyuan which undertakes the responsibilities of preserving, studying, developing, and promoting Taiwanese calligraphy art. The architect Pan Tien-Yi adopts the design concept of the buildinds as inkstone and the pond as ink, creating a theme of “Shan Shui Yuan Jing”. With five mountain-shaped inkstones as the main building, the green belt for large-scale outdoor events is retained through the courtyard design. The “eaves, corridor, courtyard, chamber” four elements blend the constructions into the meandering landscape, reducing the environmental impact. The construction of 8 courtyards initiates a leisurely ambling experience with the all-around scenery. The utilization of smart lighting with the notion of ink wash interprets the dynamics of ink marks, plus, reflects the beauty of dense ink and light dyed calligraphy art. In this project, physenaceae glulam is used to create a large span timber roof truss structure. The main building is built of fir wood texture off-form concrete, cypress solid wood grille and glulam roof truss, using simple earth materials to match the essence of an inkstone-like landscape. Besides, the interior of the exhibition hall is designed with a large void combined with a gentle slope raised from the ground, while calligraphy relics and books are displayed via the vertical walls. The floor of the exhibition area is made of modular square bricks, which can be partially reproduced and replaced when necessary according to the exhibition content. Construction Method We use 3 main kinds of material on the building structure: reinforced concrete (RC) is for foundation, steel structure is used for the lower frame, while complex structure consists of steel and glulam is used for the roof frame. The glulam gives people a warmer feeling visually, meanwhile, the timber itself functions to adjust the humidity and improves the comfortability of the interior space. Thus, the weight of the upper part is reduced, simultaneously, the seismic force transmitted to the lower structure, as well as the size of the foundation structure can also be reduced. The project adopts raft foundation to avoid uneven subsidence caused by soil. Off-form concrete used in this project is made of fir wood as mould, which requires a special release agent and flowing concrete; it is fixed with 9mm metal screws, and the formwork is made of fine craftsmanship using keyed panels, showing the handmade texture of natural splicing. Forming into one piece without vertical seams was a tough job and this project successfully achieved it. Ecological Environment Design In this project, a light volume with low building and shelter ratio is constructed, and the design method of void volume of weak buildings is applied, with permeable pavement, water-retaining facilities and green parking spaces to increase the overall green coverage area. In addition, preserve the existing native tree belts such as maples and old banyan trees, and introduce landscape features with the concept of calligraphy. Sustainability 9 major indicators of green buildings are introduced in this project, which are in line with the "Green Building Evaluation System" and passed the "Smart Building Assessment and Rating System" with "Gold". Double-layer exterior wall curtain system and steel structure with low heat transmission rate are implemented for the building. The window opening percentage of the exterior wall is controlled at 30% to 40% so as to reduce solar heat and make reasonable use of daylight, and also use airtight glass windows and 8+8mm Low-E laminated glass. Revolving windows and sliding windows are applied according to the perennial wind direction to guide the airflow into the building interior to facilitate ventilation and full heat exchange. Moreover, the project is equipped with detention pond facilities, rainwater recycling and filtration systems and water retention facilities. Safety Features Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center is equipped with fire-fighting facilities, smoke ventilation systems and barrier-free facilities in accordance with regulations from the first basement, the ground floor, the first floor and the second. It is divided to five volumes that have a physical fire prevention effect on calligraphy works. As the project site is adjacent to the Qingpu Division of the Second Brigade of the Fire Department, with the smooth disaster relief circulation from park to interior, firefighters can quickly reach the site within two kilometers to perform rescue and disaster relief missions, while the size of the disaster relief space of the building is also in line with the provision for aerial fire truck’s disaster relief missions. In addition, barrier-free ramps are provided in outdoor public spaces including the park, green space, plaza, children's playground and pedestrian paths. Other Technology Buried green building materials water retention facilities, double layer drywall insulation system and grille system, prefabricated roof truss system of glulam wood structure, BIM integration in MEP facilities, excavation and backfill calculation, full heat exchanger external air circulation system and CO2 automatic monitoring system, smart lighting control system, eco-friendly lighting system, and Low-E glass exterior wall insulation system.