FEATURES: INSTALLATION
Military precision Aerial view Image courtesy of National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)
Having transformed a former military recruitment base into a national performing arts centre, the Kaohsiung city government is peacefully enlisting public support. Richard Lawn reports from Taiwan
SIXTY YEARS AGO, ARMY PERSONNEL AT THE FORMER Weiwuying military recruitment base gave blood, sweat and tears for their national cause. Today, the 3 million inhabitants of Kaohsiung have been presented with a peaceful solution as the base has been transformed into the iconic National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, aka Weiwuying after the 116acre park it sits within. Occupying 141,000m2 within the park, the single sweeping building merits its claim to be the largest performing arts centre in the world. Gaping openings in its curvaceous shell create a cave-like landscape, the floor riding up in great waves as the ceiling plunges down to meet the ground to form tunnels and canyons. The steel structure is penetrated in places, bringing in shafts of light and offering glimpses of the venues within, while natural air is channelled to provide respite from the tropical heat of the coastal city. Following the decision to use the land as a national performing arts centre in 2003, the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture commissioned Dutch architectural firm Mecanoo to create blueprints four years later. Dutch theatre consultant Theateradvies, French acoustician Xu-Acoustique and Taipeibased Yitai Consulting were also appointed and, following initial ground-breaking in 2010, construction began in 2012. Located in southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung – a major international harbour – is promoting itself as a culturally rich and diverse city. With a mission to connect local and global talent through arts and culture, the centre for the Arts symbolises the outlook for both the city and the island. The venue’s welcoming
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ambience contrasts markedly with Taipei’s regal National Theatre and Concert Hall venues built in the late 1980s. Mecanoo adopted the banyan tree as the basis of its bold, unique architectural design, inspired by the natural tree canopy of the surrounding park. The four performance spaces are separated by trunks, which effectively support the undulating roof rising above the park’s landscape. They exist under the artificial canopy to create the extensive Banyan Plaza, which serves as a partially enclosed public space. The single sweeping building incorporates the Opera House, Concert Hall, Playhouse and Recital Hall venues, together with an outdoor theatre which links the building to the park. Arranged as a horseshoe with three circled balconies, the 2,236-seat Opera House at the heart of the complex hosts opera, major drama productions and dance, the furthest seat being just 38m from the stage. Suitable for western opera with a 70-piece orchestra, the Opera House can also be acoustically adapted to accommodate traditional Chinese opera by manoeuvring a suspended acoustic canopy. The Opera House interfaces with an enormous backstage area four times the size of the auditorium, which can store enough scenery and equipment for five different shows. Measuring 55m from the floor of the elevator pit to the ceiling of the grid, the Opera House comprises a fully equipped fly tower with 71 fly bars that can be stored 25m above the stage, two side lighting boxes and further rails for adding lighting fixtures. There are a further five fly bars and three sets of chain hoists above the orchestra pit. IX Technology also integrated
16 chain and 12 point hoists with 24 cable reels above the grid floor to connect to every fly bar. Other features include three catwalks, lighting towers, 10 stage wagons, one revolve wagon, three personal elevators and a main stage elevator. The acoustics in the stalls are divided into four sections by balustrade walls inserted with MLS (maximum length sequence) diffusers, while large mechanical acoustic curtains close off the side and rear stages. For less amplified performances, there is a Renkus-Heinz Iconyx system of six IC16/8-R-II columns. The higher SPL solution is provided by a Kling & Freitag Sequenza 10 line array system comprising eight flown and three ground-stacked dual 10-inch cabinets per side. Lower-frequency extension is added by six Sequenza 15B dual 15-inch omnidirectional subwoofers, four installed in the ceiling and the other two ground-stacked. The Renkus-Heinz inventory is completed with a pair of PN151/9s, eight PN61s, 12 CFX41 front-fill coaxials and 14
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts is a statement that Taiwan means business on the international cultural stage