New Taipei Performing Arts Center aims to connect high culture and local communities

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{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":"<div class=\"pic\"><picture><source media=\"screen and (min-width: 980px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/b4fb941c-08a2-463e-8c61-1e35e65e4cfd.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1960\"><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/01f536c3-887d-4909-8922-f9f7ab16c4cc.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=980\"><img src=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/394a49c3-41ad-4e3a-aea8-68bf11ba01a2.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1920\"></picture>The Taipei Performing Arts Center was designed by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA</div>"}],[{"start":14.31,"text":"Over the past decade, a futuristic edifice has slowly taken shape above the Shilin night market’s narrow, sprawling lanes, just north of central Taipei. "},{"start":23.389000000000003,"text":"The Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), co-designed by Dutch duo Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA, is an imposing 13-storey aluminium and glass cube which, caught in the right light, exposes the building’s industrial black and grey skeleton. "}],[{"start":38.82,"text":"The genesis of the Taipei city government project, which has cost 6.7bn new Taiwan dollars ($220mn), approaching double its original budget, is one of fits and starts, replete with contractor bankruptcies, paused construction and a Covid cluster infection among engineers. "},{"start":55.699,"text":"But on Sunday August 7, even as tension with China (which claims ownership of the island) swirled over US politician Nancy Pelosi’s visit, the building, with three theatres, finally opened. "},{"start":66.917,"text":"“It’s been a long, long 10 years,” says Austin Wang, the chief executive of the centre, over Zoom a week before the official opening. "}],[{"start":75.86,"text":"The three auditoria protruding from the TPAC’s sides are the 1,500-seat Grand Theatre; the 800-seat reconfigurable Blue Box Theatre, with a warehouse vibe; and the 800-seat Globe Playhouse, which has a surprisingly intimate feel despite sitting inside a vast metallic sphere which looms over nearby overground metro tracks. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"<div class=\"pic\"><picture><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/d2c2877e-2f03-4343-a1f0-8107e8851e83.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=980\"><img src=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/e0c94a32-3f33-4e97-b287-b3bd31245d29.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1920\"></picture>The TPAC’s Globe Playhouse</div>"}],[{"start":94.11,"text":"The 59,000-square-metre complex was designed to bleed into the local life that surrounds it. "},{"start":99.739,"text":"A tunnel from the night market — one of Taipei’s biggest — feeds directly into the centre’s ground floor; a spacious first-floor plaza has the air of a public square. "},{"start":108.482,"text":"The net effect: the boundary between public space and cultural institution is blurred. "},{"start":113.249,"text":"“The building itself is so open . . . so we expect to attract all kinds of people,” says Wang. "},{"start":118.32900000000001,"text":"“We want to treat it as a theatre for citizens. "},{"start":120.90899999999999,"text":"That’s our main purpose. "},{"start":122.589,"text":"We have to communicate with local communities. ”"}],[{"start":125.65,"text":"Take the Public Loop, a long passageway through the building with small windows into backstage and technical areas. "},{"start":131.804,"text":"It’s designed, Gianotten says, to reveal what is usually hidden in a theatre, so any visitor can see the centre’s internal machinations. "},{"start":139.659,"text":"“People can come here even if they don’t have a ticket [and] experience what theatre-making is,” Gianotten says as he ascends the deep-orange escalator that begins the route. "},{"start":148.577,"text":"“Very often, [in] theatres, when there is no performance on, the doors simply close, and it’s no longer public. "},{"start":155.357,"text":"This is another way . . . to still let people taste the space. "}],[{"start":159.4,"text":"“Theatre-making in Taiwan is something for people of all ages,” he continues. "},{"start":163.979,"text":"“But we also noticed that it’s still quite exclusive. "},{"start":166.897,"text":"Breaking down those barriers . . . is very important in making people move into more ‘formal’ space. ”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"<div class=\"pic\"><picture><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/1daee474-82ea-487d-ab16-33134c892951.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=980\"><img src=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/ec460337-271e-4738-a753-6950c3d8ee97.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1920\"></picture>OMA’s David Gianotten (left) and Rem Koolhaas (right), with the TPAC’s Austin Wang between them</div>"}],[{"start":172.82,"text":"In that regard, the TPAC offers Taipei something new. "},{"start":176.44899999999998,"text":"Taiwan’s capital is not short of large performance spaces, with the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center and the twin buildings of the National Theatre and Concert Hall often hosting big international names. "},{"start":186.442,"text":"But those spaces have a more rarefied feel. "},{"start":189.272,"text":"The twin theatres are located in Taipei’s Liberty Square, metres away from a memorial to Chiang Kai-shek, the former president who ruled Taiwan as a dictator until his death in 1975. "},{"start":199.977,"text":"It’s that grandiose exaltation of culture that TPAC’s building seeks to offset. "}],[{"start":205.39999999999998,"text":"The programming is designed to do that too. "},{"start":208.29199999999997,"text":"Thirty-seven productions are scheduled for the TPAC’s first season, with an emphasis on local Taiwanese artists working across media: Formosa Circus Art will team up with the Taipei Male Choir; the Bulareyaung Dance Company will perform a new work fusing the music and dance of Taiwan’s indigenous Atayal people. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"<div class=\"pic\"><picture><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/3f336ae9-cc09-4bd3-a9ad-13fc6bc6c853.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=980\"><img src=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/8c4f1d53-9d6f-4499-bf37-3d6f4e9eb87d.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1920\"></picture>‘The Monk from Tang Dynasty’ will be performed in the TPAC’s opening season</div>"}],[{"start":224.72999999999996,"text":"One of the building’s highlights is the “Super Theatre”, which combines the Grand and Blue Box theatres into an enormous 2,550-seat space traversing the length of the building. "},{"start":234.35899999999995,"text":"For Taiwanese multimedia artist Hsieh Chun-te, the marrying of two theatres is perfect for dramatising a central theme of his work: parallel universes. "},{"start":242.75199999999995,"text":"“I think the Super Theatre was designed for me,” he says, chuckling. "},{"start":246.89399999999995,"text":"His work, NEXEN, will be one of the first to use the 60-metre-long space, simultaneously telling a single story from alternate realities across both stages. "}],[{"start":256.86999999999995,"text":"Gianotten, fresh out of travellers’ quarantine when we meet, says he was anxious to see the building for the first time in two and a half years. "},{"start":264.61199999999997,"text":"He had reason to be. "},{"start":266.19199999999995,"text":"In 2016, the centre’s main contractor, International Engineering & Construction, filed for bankruptcy with NT$2bn of debt. "},{"start":274.87199999999996,"text":"Construction on the centre was halted for 21 months. "},{"start":278.13899999999995,"text":"When trial performances began in March this year, audiences complained of damaged seats, shoddy air conditioning and confusing signage that led to toilet queues “as long as a dragon”, according to one Taipei city councillor. "}],[{"start":290.35999999999996,"text":"Wang and Gianotten are transparent about the centre’s teething problems. "},{"start":294.45199999999994,"text":"They say the Grand Theatre’s scuffed seats are a hangover from halted construction. "},{"start":298.73199999999997,"text":"The seats, made by Italian company Poltrona Frau, arrived just before construction stopped and were left exposed to the elements in the abandoned building site. "},{"start":307.037,"text":"The damaged seats are now being hurriedly covered in a temporary fabric, Wang says, and should be completed within two months. "}],[{"start":314.81999999999994,"text":"Other hitches, Gianotten says, simply require fine-tuning. "},{"start":319.13699999999994,"text":"“A theatre like this needs a lot of training to operate. "},{"start":322.14199999999994,"text":"There are always issues at the beginning. ”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"<div class=\"pic\"><picture><source media=\"screen and (max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/08caa3a0-358f-40d4-ae92-b3c1b723e861.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=980\"><img src=\"https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/f379951b-6594-45f7-abe6-9dde7ad45ac6.jpg?source=ftchinese&fit=scale-down&width=1920\"></picture>Public areas are spatially diverse</div>"}],[{"start":325.2699999999999,"text":"The TPAC’s architectural ingenuity feels as though it will eventually bring early naysayers around. "},{"start":330.64899999999994,"text":"Public areas are spatially diverse; intimate corridors and low-ceilinged bars give way to vaulted courtyards and roomy balconies, with panoramic views of the mountains that envelop Taipei. "}],[{"start":341.49999999999994,"text":"For Chang Tieh-chih, founder of Taiwan’s Verse culture magazine, the TPAC’s programming encapsulates a shift that has taken place in Taiwanese culture since the country democratised in the mid-1990s: one that fuses traditional “high” artforms with elements native to Taiwan. "},{"start":356.65399999999994,"text":"He also believes the TPAC, in its own effort to democratise public cultural space, is a spatial symbol of that artistic trend. "}],[{"start":364.73999999999995,"text":"“The TPAC isn’t set apart from society. "},{"start":367.6569999999999,"text":"It emphasises openness and grassroots,” Chang says. "},{"start":371.14899999999994,"text":"“The design of the building reflects the essence of Taipei’s culture. ”"}],[{"start":375.73999999999995,"text":"tpac-taipei.org "}],[{"start":377.65,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/79715-1660058968.mp3"}

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New Taipei Performing Arts Center aims to connect high culture and local communities

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