Taiwan 2011 / part 1 / The most amazing museum this part of the world

In October 2010, I had to gone to Korea to see my lovely friends and visit the Seoul Design Fair 2010, and as I was sauntering the grounds of the exhibition, I had come across a particularly interesting booth. A congress was in the making, an inaugural one at that, called International Design Alliance 2011 (IDA 2011) , and it would be held in Taiwan in October 2011. At the time, it felt like the event itself was so far, unattainably so, in the distant future, but like all good things who come to people who wait, the event came soon enough.

( after all, a year passes by much faster than we can grasp )

I said to myself after looking at the events profile ... lets give this a shot.
and I did, and on the 22nd of October 2011, i arrived in the vibrant city of Taipei.

I was lucky that I had remembered I had an acquaintance here in Taiwan, Sharon, whom I had met briefly in Seoul in 2009, when I had first gone there for the conference. I recently had then got in touch with her, and subsequently made plans to see her as soon as I could. We met friday night, and i was pleasantly surprised that she had brought friends with her. we went for a grand dinner in this posh establishment, while having a great time getting to know each other and eventually decided to go for a tour all around the city.



we walked around for a bit in a what obviously seemed to be a major cosmopolitan spot right in the heart of the city, with numerous commercial venues abounding in each corner, tempered with intriguing vignettes of street performances.



blue people are especially eye - catching.



In the dark of the cold night, there was so much to see and appreciate, as we were walking and riving around in the city on a Friday night, starting of course with the world famous 101 Taipei office tower, looking like fragile but rigorously framed glass bamboo against the black of the night. an elegant soaring minaret, with segmented parts reminiscent of "rings" found on a bamboo's trunk, presented in a stylized manner, it certainly takes the breath away for a moment or two.



and there's us ... off to another round of drinks ....



.. at this charming al-fresco cafe in the city. an art festival was going on that time, and they told me i needed to pay this place a visit...of course, i made a mental note of it ... more on that later.

After dinner, I went back to my guesthouse, and rested for the rest of the night, in preparation for an adventure tomorrow. i was actually going to leave the city and head south about 2 hours away by train to visit one of the most interesting buildings i had seen in all my life. i had a wonderful time with these people, and it was the perfect ending for the night.



and after this last shot, we headed home.

Like I wrote, I had come to Taiwan to attend an international design symposium, called IDA 2011, and had made prior plans to visit this fantastic complex once I got here, after reading about it in a local design magazine weeks before. And once in Taipei, on a delightfully bright Saturday morning, I took a train to the south of the country, enjoying the natural beauty of the verdant surroundings while I was on my way, feeling all excited and anticipatory. And after about 2 brief hours, I had arrived at the museum, and I was completely blown away by its futuristic and contemporary appearance.



There is a natural history museum, like no other, on the island of Taiwan. Called the Lanyang Museum, in the Yilan Province, south of the city of Taipei, it is an amazing complex, simple and complicated at the same time, located prominently at the edge of the island’s boundaries, overlooking the serene beauty of the great, vast South China Sea.

And I was fortunate to have visited this marvelous piece of architecture.




Approaching from the side of the building, the first thing that caught my eye, other than its imposing size, was the visual and tactile richness of the materials that clad the walls of the museum. It was a horizontally aligned mosaic of hundreds, if not thousands of individual rectangular panels of different colours and textures, used to signify the various kinds of stones and rocks that geologically make up the crust and surface of the land itself.



I felt that the usage of this natural material to cloak the superstructure of the entire building was an poignant attempt to create an architecturally symbolic link between the existence of the building itself ( manmade and synthetic ) and the earth ( natural and organic ) that supports it.



In my humble opinion, the museum seemed clearly inspired by the ideals and principles of a design movement called “Organic Architecture”, where buildings are constructed to appear as if they have naturally merged from the site from where they stand. These buildings are made and covered with even the same materials and colour schemes of the natural elements found in the site itself, much like what Frank Lloyd Wright did almost a century ago in the United States, Fallingwater ( a gorgeous retreat built in the forest ) being the best example.



Even the overall angled placement and structure of the entire building itself seemed to evoke an abstract representation of the mountainous landscapes that surround the site, through its huge masses of triangular volumes and towering, skyward summits.



“An artificial mountain in a natural landscape,” was what I had imagined the essence and gist of the design concept was, when the architects and designers of this project commenced this venture.



Upon entering a huge steel and glass atrium, I come to see that even the interior floors and walls are cladded with the same myriad collection of materials seen from the outside, thus making the
building seem whole and cohesive.



and the glass walls were built at such an amazing scale. so much of the exterior could be appreciated from the inside.



The continuation of the usage of similar materials from the exterior to the interior gives a sense of visual unity and completeness to the entire composition of the building, and also conveys a strong visual link to the natural environment outside through those huge glass walls.



The glass used in the atrium, I then felt, served to provide an elegant transparent contrast to an otherwise solid background, and as a means to bring in both the natural light and scenery to illuminate the interior, that also further reinforces the building’s intangible connection to the outside environment. As I approach the reception and ticket counter, I was informed that the museum is dedicated to exhibit and glorify the culture and traditions of the local people in the Yilan province, both past and present, here in the south of Taiwan.



And as I stood at the counter, which was the central meeting point of the museum I could see that the building itself was divided primarily to 2 solid triangular halves, interconnected by a sunlight – bathed void in the middle, and a series of criss – crossing glass and steel pedestrian bridges above me connect each half to another.



Inevitably, I then make the decision to enter the main exhibition hall, by first of course purchasing a ticket, and heading up to the first floor where the entrance was located.



The pathways that bring me inside the halls above are designed to be directional in nature, meaning once someone goes up, they follow a path that slowly leads them back down again, through all the spaces that are meant to exhibit something of importance, like information panels, screen projections, statues, artworks, models and so forth.



So once I went up, I walk in, admiring the various exhibits showcased in the dimly lit ambiance, that display the wealth of local history and culture found in the above said province.



and this eerily life-like despondent, downtrodden figure, catches my eye.



I walk around for quite some time, slowly making my way down from one level to another, appreciating all the artistic pieces of treasure I come across as much as I could.



lighted glass floors beneath me, showcasing a carpet of indigenous leaves of the province itself.



and a map of the island itself in some strange composition of plastic canisters. in colour too.



down the main staircase next to the collection of those plastic thingies.



and I then enter a room with a model of the entire complex. clean, whiteboard model, showing the general massing of the building and an explanation of the concept behind the structure.



and next to it, an art room of sorts. clean and white too. literally.
silhouettes of trees represented graphically in an almost 3D manner ... Christmas - y, even.




Once I was done with the interior, I proceeded to the exterior of the complex and walked around as much as I could to observe and take in the overwhelming majesty of this building



I simply could not believe how truly breath taking and spectacular this museum was, in terms of its appearance and dimension, and I felt so grateful to simply stand here, in complete awe of its existence.



even the spaces outside had marvelous finishing touches here and there ... flags gently billowing in the wind was one of them.



and that's the main entrance ...



and if you want to go in, this is the way.



subterranean connections. another nice touch.






To the architects of this museum, I salute your efforts and you have my utmost respect. You truly have given the world a wonderful piece of design and I wish you the best in your future undertakings and may they all be as captivating as this masterpiece.