Taipei Performing Arts Center: Planet Theater Leaning On A Cube

Theatre has a very long history. Contemporary performances are increasingly becoming standard with conservative internal principles. One of them is this 59,000-square meters cultural landmark, which has a distinctive shape with a round-shaped auditorium protruding from the central cube. Taipei Performing Arts Center was built in Taipei's Shilin night market area by OMA studios led by architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten.

Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Taipei Performing Art Center has many faces with blurry and wavy glass facades. The underground parking area is one of the facilities at Taipei Performing Art Center. Upstairs, there is a main building allocated as a closed square, consisting of an entrance, foyer, and a road to the backstage area of the theater. In addition, there is a public street commonly called the Public Loop, which allows visitors to be able to see performances in and in the technical space between theaters.

The Grand Theater.

The Grand Theater.

There are three large theaters inside the Taipei Performing Art Center designed around the central cube. The most prominent is the Globe Play House which is equipped with 800 round chairs resembling planets that lean against the cube and are supported externally on the two columns below. In addition, there is a Grand Theater with a capacity of 1,500 seats and a Blue-Blox Theater with a capacity of 800 seats. When the Grand Theater and blue-box theater were combined, it became a 2,300-seat Super Theater.

Public walkway inside Taipei Performing Arts Center.

Public walkway inside Taipei Performing Arts Center.

"The configuration of three theaters plugged into a central cube has resulted in new internal workings of the performing spaces to inspire unimagined productions. The Public Loop exposes visitors with and without tickets to these new works and their creative processes. We are excited by how the building constantly generates new relationships between artists, spectators, and the public," Gianotten said.

The Global Play House.

The Super Theatre.