The Architecture Trip--The sound cave--National Taichung Theater

the National Taichung Theater

  The architecture for this week is the National Taichung Theater(台中國家歌劇院), a very popular architecture in Taichung. It was designed by a famous architect, Toyo Ito(伊東豊[ㄈㄥ]雄), another Japanese architect who got the Nobel prize in architecture, Pritzker Architecture Prize(普立茲克建築獎).

Toyo Ito

The  Social Science library in NTU is built by Ito, too

  I had been there since I was preparing the oral quiz of the architecture department. At that time, the theater wasn't open to public. So I  could only go around the theater and took glances inside.

  Ito claims that the theater is imitating the shape of caves, symbolizing we are back to the prehistory and enjoy the purity of life. While Some one claim it is like a cheese, my first thought of the outline of the architecture is a cut of a big nose and the breathing system. Then, what is the nose smelling at? Maybe the PM2.5, the air pollution problem of Taichung ,or the money stink in the 7th Re-planning District(七期).

Like a carve of nose

some one think it's a cheese

Ito claims that it is a cave 

  Why is Ito building architecture like this, with holes and tunnels? It is because that he was tired of squares and angles of buildings and wants to create something organic, like the tree-shaped columns of the Social Science library in NTU.

there are no squares and no angles in the theater

  In fact, building the curved walls takes a lot of effort. Therefore, the theater wins the titles of "the most difficult building to build," and "the new nine buildings of the world."

I think the curved wall will be dangerous for kids

the uniform of the staff. 

  It is always my regret that I didn't make it to visit indoor space. Hope that I will have the chance some day.

Besides the theater, the apartments in the 7th Re-planning District(七期) is an enjoyable sight, too