los angeles CALIFORNIA
suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.
raymond PAN/HMC Architects: The Taiwan Tower design is conceived as an iconic new building for Taiwan, and an integral part of the city’s urban fabric. The tower derives its form and function from an emphasis on connectedness: connection to its urban context, connection with natural processes and sustainable systems, and connection to the history and culture of the people of Taichung. The tower’s base engages the multiple conditions present in the local urban context, including the creation of a bridge to the new Gateway Park, the enhancement of pedestrian and mass transit linkages, and acknowledgement of the adjacent historic quarter.
The tower responds and adapts to its location and climate. The characteristic form allows wind to pass through the super-tall structure, decreasing structural loads and harvesting the energy via integrated turbines. Modular, energy-producing fins shade the tower from the tropical sun, and can be moved, updated, or enhanced as green technology continues to evolve. As a result, the tower produces 185% of its own energy needs, exporting the surplus renewable energy to the surrounding city. Visitors experience the tower as a vertical museum, displaying the history of Taichung as a continuous tapestry ascending to 400m in height. The form of the tower rotates to provide optimal views of historical landmarks as the viewer moves upward through time.
sP: What or who influenced this project?
rP: Urban Connections and the passing of time.
sP: What were you reading/listening to/watching while developing this project?
rP: Classical Piano, The Towers of Utopia, High Density Architecture For the Future, Utopia Forever Visions of Architecture and Urbanism, Wild China.
sP: Whose work is currently on your radar?
rP: Natural processes on the environment/landscape/urban fabric.
Additional credits and links:
Design Team: David Chang, Julie Coleman, Philip Knight, Jimmy Macias, Willie Nishida, Jon Orr, Ruth Oh, Scott Plante, Klyde Wilson
