Man Made Marvels: Taichung Metropolitan Opera House ǀ Discovery
Taichung's vibrant industries are synonymous with the words 'Made in Taiwan'. In a few decades, it became one of the country's most prosperous cities. Old buildings made way for new architecture. The jewel-in-the-crown is the National Taichung Theatre. It will be to Taichung what the Opera House is to Sydney. Dreamed up by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the radical concept is inspired by nature and made up of a network of complex and continuous concrete caves held together by curved walls, not one the same. New engineering techniques must be devised to make them earthquake-proof. And though the building's curves are envisioned to help accentuate the acoustics of performances held in its theatres, engineers must figure out how to turn theory into a reality. The unique Taichung theatre scores points for human ingenuity but both designers and builders must go beyond the boundaries of conventional construction wisdom to achieve it.
