© Iwan Baan
On May 22nd, 2011, framed by green
bamboo vaults, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou stood at a podium inside
Forest Pavilion to
inaugurate the Masadi Art Festival. Facing a crowd of celebrators,
designers, and protesters, President Ma delivered his administration’s
vision for a low carbon future.
nARCHITECTS’
Forest Pavilion -
completed in May 2011 – serves as a shaded meeting and performance
space for visitors to the Da Nong Da Fu Forest and Eco-park in Hualien
province, Taiwan. The project was conceived within the context of an art
festival organized by Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau to raise public
awareness of a new growth forest that is being threatened by
development. The pavilion is comprised of eleven vaults built with
freshly cut green bamboo, a material first used by nARCHITECTS in the
internationally acclaimed 2004
Canopy for MoMA P.S.1. As an
extension of techniques developed in 2004’s Canopy for MoMA/P.S.1, the
60’ diameter and 22’ tall pavilion is built with green bamboo.
Forest Pavilion was chosen to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the art festival, becoming a focal point for the park.
This
new circular gathering space emerges from the ground in a series of
eleven green bamboo shading vaults, organized in two rings around a
void. The plan is inspired by the rings of a tree, and the different
form of the vaults by growth patterns in nature. In the same way that
the infinite variety of shapes in a tree emerge from very simple
branching rules, the configuration of vault shapes uses a single
geometry, the parabolic arch, in a way that could in theory generate
endless configurations.
Bamboo Plan
The
pavilion is also designed to be used as a small outdoor theater. The
circular ring of decking serves as either seating for spectators
watching a performance in the central void space, or as a circular
stage. nARCHITECTS’ mission was to design a landmark installation suited
for the vast scale of its scenic site, while providing a sense of
enclosure, shade, and seating for park visitors and various scheduled
events. Forest Pavilion’s relationship to the existing site is
diaphanous and light – the pavilion sits lightly in its environment with
minimal disruption, yet with lighting becomes a beacon at night,
underscoring the relative emptiness of the valley.
© Iwan Baan
Hualien
County is the traditional territory of the aboriginal Taiwanese Amis
tribe. Used for sugarcane cultivation under Japanese rule and eventually
passing into the Taiwanese government’s hands, the Forestry Bureau
faced criticism for not involving local inhabitants in the planning and
development of the Eco Park. While there is broad support for preserving
the forest, there are also plans for development by the provincial
government, including the construction of a casino. In recognition of
the cultural diversity of the region, the pavilion’s vaults, each one
presenting a unique ‘gateway’ into the meeting space, sought to
formalize this diversity and suggest an opportunity for unity in support
of a greater environmental benefit.
© Iwan Baan
Bamboo
fabrication for the pavilion was undertaken by the local Amis tribe,
masters of bamboo construction. The pavilion introduced to the region
the concept of using freshly cut green bamboo, an extension of
techniques developed by nARCHITECTS in 2004 for the MoMA/P.S.1 Canopy.
Through an exchange of knowledge and ideas about bamboo construction,
the Amis became personally invested in the completion of the pavilion,
naming the pavilion “Y lu duqai a luma,” Amis for “mountain home.”
nARCHITECTS has since granted a request by the Amis to incorporate the
green bamboo vault technique into their own bamboo construction methods.
Axo
The
pavilion hosted the opening day ceremonies for the art festival and
Eco-park with dance and music performances, speeches from local and
federal government officials, and an address by President Ma. The
closing ceremony, a more intimate and local community affair, began at
dusk with a lantern parade culminating at the pavilion with a light
show. The festival came to a close with both performers and audience
uniting in traditional song and dance at the pavilion.
© Iwan Baan
Architects:
nARCHITECTS Location:
Guangfu, Hualien, Taiwan Design Team:
Eric Bunge, Mimi Hoang (Principals); Ammr Vandal (Project Architect), Julia Chapman, Tiago Barros, Jack Hudspith, Alana Flick Curator:
Huichen Wu, Artfield Structural Engineer:
Yan Shi-Feng (steel/concrete) Bamboo Fabricator:
Amis tribe (aboriginal Taiwanese people) Project Year:
2011 Project Area:
300 sqm Photographs:
Iwan Baan, Florian Claar, Cango Chen
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