Rhythms of the Harbor: Kaohsiung’s Musical Shoreline

Culture meets design in this vibrant port city, tucked away south of Taiwan, through the construction of the Kaohsiung Music Centre. This urban development marks the spot where the river flows into the harbour basin right in the middle of the city. It is interesting to see how the culture of this day and age can influence the design and development of a city. This project was built to celebrate the food and music culture of the city - two things Taiwanese people love and enjoy the most (and by virtue of my background, it does not shock me why I was drawn to this space).  I was personally quite happy to take a run along the edge of the harbour, only to encounter possibilities of transitioning to a more elevated promenade that gave me access to the beautiful harbour skyline. "

"In hindsight, it did not go unnoticed to me that this development stood alienated from the rest of the city. In the backdrop, the skyline of Kaohsiung lingers, speaking of an architecture without a voice. A few questions linger: How far do new urban developments depart from the city's architecture? Is it a desire to alienate from the past, only to create spaces that attract, yes, but do not ‘remember’? What story will this space tell of the history of Kaohsiung in years to come? Perhaps this is precisely the point: to begin to tell the story of Kaohsiung in a way that has never been told before, from the view of the city’s waterscape, using a “landscape of geometries rescued from the seabed”."

"Well, all valid questions, but for now, I leave you with some shots from my point of view - the four main elements of the development: the ‘Great Wave’ ensemble, containing the concert hall and an outdoor auditorium. The second element is a cluster of six ‘Whale’ type buildings on the opposite side of the harbour basin. The third element is the ‘Dolphin’, which is five restaurants connected by a walkway. Fourth, the ‘Coral’, a theme captured in the roof, hexagonal panels on steel-branched pillars, is also reflected throughout the pavement in the public space.