National Taichung Theater Introduction
The Taichung National Theatre features an avant-garde design, incorporating the concept of "Sound Cave" with unique elements such as curved walls, apertures, and tubular structures. The entire building is free of columns and has no right angles, overturning traditional architectural concepts. After years of construction, a theater that coexists with people and nature is about to emerge in Taichung. The arcs and curves nurture everyone's anticipation, while the glass curtain reflects the blue sky, surrounded by green spaces and flowing water, creating an urban paradise. The façade of the "Sound Cave" resembles a curvilinear wine vessel, where the audience is intoxicated by the brilliance of the performances, marveling at the endless possibilities of art. The numerous round windows on the walls create a warm and elegant ambience when illuminated at night. This place is a cradle of performing arts, a space for relaxation and learning, and a starting point for cultural rejuvenation in central Taiwan. This is the Taichung National Theatre. Beautiful things require ample preparation, especially a venue that internalizes art and culture into life. In 1992, the Education Department of the Taiwan Provincial Government planned the "National Taichung Arts Center," later changing to "National Concert Hall," aiming to establish a performing arts center of international standards for Taiwan. After meticulous modifications of the venue's size and name, in 2005, the construction project of the "Taichung Metropolitan Opera House" was officially approved by the Council for Cultural Affairs (now the Ministry of Culture). With the construction project confirmed, the architectural design was decided through an international competition involving teams of architects from 13 countries, including Taiwan, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, conducted in two phases. Ultimately, Japanese architect Toyo Ito emerged victorious. With a clear outline for the building, years of preparation had accumulated sufficient momentum to establish the operational direction for the opera house as an international venue. From the initial design to the completion of construction, the opera house underwent a process of refinement over time and rigorous tests. During the competition phase, Toyo Ito adopted an avant-garde design perspective challenging existing paradigms, envisioning the building's outline and situating the stage within the curved walls according to performance characteristics. The second phase focused on spatial efficiency, examining feasible design structures and innovatively connecting the large and medium theaters through a foyer. Ultimately, adjustments were made based on internal visual and auditory experiences, emphasizing the interaction between "people" and space and highlighting the artistic energy resonating in the "Sound Cave." The laughter, sorrow, and emotions presented in performing arts are thus amplified and enriched. The Taichung National Theatre features 58 curved walls, each made up of 1,372 small panels, all custom-made without the possibility of mass production, resulting in a highly precise engineering endeavor. Due to its challenging construction, the Taichung National Theatre is known in the architecture industry as "the world's most difficult house to build," and its "curved wall" construction method has received a global patent. The internal space of the Taichung National Theatre includes a large theater (2,007 seats), a medium theater (794 seats), a small theater (200 seats), as well as a basement parking lot and related public spaces. The surrounding landscape design of the building is also planned in totality with the concept of the Sound Cave. Each of the 2,014 seats inside the opera house offers the same auditory experience, eliminating visual obstruction, allowing every seat to view the stage. Spaces resembling treehouses or caves do not lead people back to the past but utilize modern technology and materials to liberate the harsh, cold environment, transforming the rigid contours of the urban landscape into a vibrant, life-filled realm. The flowing water and open imagery of the surrounding gardens break down the binary distinctions between the stage and the audience, indoor and outdoor, reclaiming the environmental sensitivity that modern people have gradually lost and creating more possibilities for dialogue between individuals, architecture, and art. The "greatness" of architecture does not lie in how much steel, concrete, and glass are used to construct giant outlines. In the past, people pursued the tallest and most magnificent buildings at all costs to prove that mankind can conquer nature; now, there is an attempt to find principles of coexistence with nature and the environment, returning to the fundamentals of life—about the feelings of "people." Everyone actually longs to tell stories, listen to music, move their bodies with the rhythm of dance, and appreciate the unparalleled beauty of traditional arts—these are the aspects that the Taichung National Theatre takes pride in as "great." Coexisting with nature, the fluid spaces tenderly embrace humanistic arts. The curved walls, like bones, and the penetrable glass curtain allow sunlight to freely stream in, while the wind can flow easily. At night, these apertures radiate warm halos of light, giving birth to the breath and life of the Taichung National Theatre. Additionally, there is a green park within the Taichung National Theatre, where even the water channels in the park extend into the building, breaking the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.
