SANAA completes Taichung Green Museumbrary in Taiwan

Japanese studio SANAA has reached completion on its largest cultural project to date, Taichung Green Museumbrary in Taiwan.

Set to open to the public in Taichung's central park in December, the 58,016-square-metre building contains an art museum and a city library, spread across eight blocks interconnected with winding walkways.

Taichung Green Museumbrary has been completed by SANAA in collaboration with Taiwanese firm Ricky Liu and Associates.

According to the Tokyo-based studio, the "museumbrary" was designed with the goal of immersing visitors in the surrounding natural landscape.

As with many of SANAA's projects, it has achieved this by maximising transparency, lining the building with glass and metal walls wrapped in a veil of aluminium mesh.

"We have always hoped to create an open building that many people can easily participate in," the studio said earlier this year as construction photos of the building were released.

"Whether it is the museum providing visual learning through art or the library offering education through literature, combining the two to create a new multifaceted learning space is what we believe to be one of the main characteristics of this building," SANAA continued.

"We have carefully considered how to gently link the two entities together to create a place that connects learning and communication for people."

Taichung Green Museumbrary's blocky volumes are each raised on columns, creating access routes from all directions. They are complete with an accessible rooftop with views overlooking the park and city skyline.

Once open, the Taichung Public Library is expected to house more than 1,000,000 books. Meanwhile, Taichung Art Museum will focus on supporting local artists and connecting Taiwan to the international art scene.

Alongside completing Taichung Green Museumbrary, SANAA's largest cultural project to date, the studio hit the headlines this year after winning the prestigious Royal Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Following the news, we rounded up key projects by the studio, which included two of its other landmark cultural buildings – New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and the Sydney Modern art gallery expansion.

The photography is by YHLAA.

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