Taipei Performing Arts Center

The Taipei Performing Arts Center, located near the Shilin Night Market, is a world-class performance venue in Taipei city. Its core principle is "Open for All," aiming to provide a space for artistic enjoyment, talent cultivation, and diverse innovation, with the goal of integrating art into people's daily lives. Designed by the renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his team, who are recipients of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, this building takes the form of Taiwan's traditional snacks like meatballs, Hundred Layered Beancurd, and Brown rice pudding. The main structure combines both circular and rectangular elements, with three sides of the outer walls extending outward like building blocks. Inside, it houses spaces such as music halls, theaters, and exhibition halls, offering versatile artistic and cultural spaces. One of the highlights of the arts center is the "3+1" theaters. The "Globe Playhouse" can accommodate 800 seats, the "Grand Theater" can hold 1500 seats, and the "Blue Box Theater," designed for experimental works, can seat 800. Interestingly, when the large and small theaters are combined, they can transform into a super-sized theater with a capacity of up to 2500 seats. Additionally, the main theater of the Taipei Performing Arts Center boasts the largest orchestra pit area in Taiwan, fully accommodating the Wagnerian orchestra setup, enabling various forms of performances to be smoothly hosted and creating a perfect audio-visual experience. The building itself has garnered significant recognition, being named one of the "The transformative buildings set to shape the world in 2021" by CNN in 2021 and also making it to the list of TIME Magazine's "The World's 100 Greatest Places" in the same year.