Public Space & Boundary & Ownership of Tainan City (2/2)

Two other projects I would like to share from my recent trip back to Tainan City: Tainan Spring from MVRDV and Tainan Library by Mecanoo & MAYU Architects! Both perfectly fit the topic of public spaces / boundary / ownership in the urban context. Something interesting and "coincidental" (?) is that the Tainan City was colonized by Japan and Netherland back then, and now the city is visiting back designers from the respective countries to help improve the city.

Tainan Spring / MVRDV / 2020

The site was originally a landmark shopping mall called "Chinatown" built in 1980, but has slowly lost attraction since 1990s and caused some environmental controversy by polluting the adjacent river. 
The adaptive reuse initiative started in 2010 and eventually MVRDV proposed an urban planning scheme in 2016 called the "Tainan Axis" that aimed to revamp the entire canal area by creating a defined axis with a lagoon landscape feature.

MVRDV's proposal for the Tainan Axis during the competition phase. Image from MVRDV.

Site Plan

I admire the approach a lot since it shows that architects don't have to over-design all the time. By emptying the lot and preserved some of the structures, it creates a void space within the urban fabrics that can serves as a public park/plaza and retains the historical context at the same time, in a sense, this is the opposite approach of the Little Island in NYC by Heatherwick. Good design idea doesn't always have to be $$$.

Tainan Library / Mecanoo & MAYU Architects / 2016-2019
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Design illustration by Mecanoo

This one was the least hyped project for me out of the three, but turned out to be extremely successful both design and construction wise!! I always love Mecanoo's massing and materiality approaches, I felt like they could be weaker on the contextual side, but that's why teaming up with local firm MAYU Architects was a great choice (I almost intern there!).

For me, that thick frieze on the top resembles the roof of Chinese temple, and the massing is reading like an inverted Chinese tower. The way the perimeter columns lifted up the volumes is also common in Chinese architecture. And according to MAYU Architects' website "An ancient map of Tainan is transposed onto vertical louvres and represents the city’s evolving relationship with its past and the direction towards its future." (https://mayuarchitects.com/tainan-public-library)

Physical model of the project during competition phase.

BIM Technician's blog about their BIM execution:
https://www.johanhanegraaf.nl/portfolio/tainan-public-library/

Detail Drawing from MAYU Architects' website

The interiors follow the same principles as the core and shell, it's bold and simple. For me this is a satisfying example of a project that just carries an idea throughout the whole operation. The cohesiveness and level of coordination were really inspiring. 

That's enough update for my hometown, til next time!