JJP Architects and Planners - Hsinchu Cultural and Creative Museum, from a long abandoned warehouse to a gateway to the Hsinchu Highland Arts District
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Hsinchu Cultural and Creative Museum, from a long abandoned warehouse to a gateway to the Hsinchu Highland Arts District

JJP Architects and Planners

Renovation  /  Future
JJP Architects and Planners

This project’s former life was the TFC (Taiwan Fertilizer Company) warehouse built during the Japanese occupation era, which ended after WWII. The special vaulted roof represents the architectural vocabulary of the times. However, due to the lack of maintenance and subsequent ill-conceived use and renovations of the space, the building has long been abandoned. The government hopes to reverse the situation by cooperating with private organizations through Rehabilitate-Operate-and-Transfer (ROT) to create a Hsinchu Cultural and Creative Museum. Given its proximity to the main thoroughfare, the project will act as the gateway to the Hsinchu Highland Arts District, which includes a planned Children's Discovery Center and Hsinchu City International Exhibition Center. The design concept of the project takes its que from the overall planning concept of Arts District, which is "Rolling Hills and Sinuous Wind". The design objective seeks to fully retain the existing architectural style, while further integrating new spatial volumes and functions. Hence the design proposes the use of steel structure to cantilever 12-18 meters to create program volumes clad with translucent mesh membranes to achieve a cloud-like fuzzy boundary conditions. The volumes, of different sizes and specifications, are suspended above the old warehouse. With the lighting of different indoor space functions, coupled with different degrees of light transmission and reflectivity, a playful building façade is achieved. From a distance, the project appears to float above the old warehouse, while the cantilevered ceilings on either side are made of mirror stainless steel, which reflect the activities of the ground plane and create an interesting spatial dialogue with the vaulted roof of the old warehouse. Furthermore, linkage is one of the primary design considerations. The old warehouse with a width of nearly 180M impedes the connection between the city and nature, people and activities. Therefore, the floating volumes and the existing warehouse are cleverly utilized to create an "urban living room" with a height of 17m. The public is welcome to enter and be stimulated in all kinds of imagination and creativity. In terms of urban landscape design, the corner squares are opened to reconnect with the urban texture, and the green coverage area is also increased by 30%, while the basement excavation area is reduced and increased. The landscape pavement is permeable and the partially demolished construction waste will be reused as the material elements of the indoor flooring and outdoor metal frame, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. Compared with a totally new construction, extending the service life of the warehouse can greatly reduce the environmental impact and significantly lower embodied carbon emissions by 46%.

Credits

 Hsinchu
 Taiwan
 Confidential
 12/2023
 23340 mq
 Joshua J. Pan
 Yen-Chih Tseng, I-Li Mao, Ping Chen, Luke C.Y. Chen, Ching-Chen Liu

Curriculum

JJP is an architectural and planning firm dedicated to providing creative solutions for the built environment. Founded in January, 1981 by Mr. Joshua Jih Pan, the firm is based in Taipei, Taiwan with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen. The firm combines talented design capability and diversified technical experience into a comprehensive, world-class service package for clients in Taiwan and around the globe.

The firm has demonstrated the highest levels of professional expertise, especially in large complex projects. Such accomplishment is also affirmed by the numerous awards for design excellence that the firm has received. In recognition of a career of distinction, Mr. Pan was elected a Fellow by the American Institute of Architects in 1994 and was awarded the Taiwan National Award for Arts in 2015.


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