The central goal of this Project was to create a Maritime Cultural and Popular Music Centre that showcased the distinctive personality of Kaohsiung City while fulfilling the requirements of the local people, the industries and future developments. This was accomplished by founding its design on the cultural essence of Kaohsiung, the merits of the project site and the characteristics of the pop music and maritime cultural industries.
Wind is the concept. Air currents have played an important role in the maritime and the musical aspects of Taiwanese history. Residents have also experienced the destructive aspects of these currents in the form of typhoons, as the typhoons can wreak havoc during the worst storm, but their existence should not be avoided or denied, and by embracing the Typhoons their mighty power can be admired.
The wind was applied to the project by:
• Utilising the sea breezes
• Reflecting the air flow within the tradition Taiwanese Guan flute
• Taking inspiration from the dramatic Typhoons
The environmental considerations included:
• Flexible solar cells on the roof that also acts as a parasol
• Sun stored thermal mass for nightly purging
• Natural ventilation (where possible)
• Air blocks that prevent polluted air entering the site at night
The Typhoon roof serves many purposes functionally, environmentally and in terms of a local icon. It protects the building from the sun and rain along the street, the glazing panels have a flexible solar cell membrane that can be cut to any shape. The areas that hover over the buildings heat the concrete up during the day then purge during the night. The funnel of the typhoon is unglazed, instead it acts as an elegant rig for speakers and lights to be mounted upon during pop events as well as an emphatic backdrop for any performer on stage, who would arrive via boat from the helipad in front of the crowd. The Typhoon is the spectacle that was asked for in the brief, a structure that contributes glass whirlwind that plunges from 50m into the sea. The exposed coastal breezes will run ENE - WSW so a series of vertical fins around the public square at the north of the site as well as the twisting ribbon will direct some of this airflow from the mouth of the River Love through the semi external street cooling the occupants in the daytime heat. At night as the temperature drop the fins will close sealing off the site and preventing any polluted air entering the site. At the pinnacle of the South Easterly side is the Maritime Museum. The visitor must first descend down the curved ramp 20m into a deep crevice. The rest of their visit requires them to meander up the slope that is itself a perforated monocoque structure only top-lit as they emerge at the windy dockland.