03 / Culture
Academic Work
We Never Know Time Until…
A Reception Center Shaped By The Slow Rhythm Of The River, The Continuity Of A Shell, And The Experience Of Time.
Design Excellence Award 2021 · Fourth Prize
01 / Slowness
How Can A Space Hold A Sense Of Time?
Is time linear, or can it be understood as a continuous cycle? This question begins the project. The intensity of city life, the slower flow of the Tamsui River, and the renewal of marine shells suggest different experiences of time. A shell becomes a home for another life; the Möbius strip offers a continuous surface without a clear beginning or end. These ideas inform the building’s continuous form and unfolding route.
02 / Discovery
A Shell, Partly Revealed.
The building is nestled in the earth, as if weathered and uncovered over time. A detached piece at the entrance invites a closer look. Rather than revealing everything at once, the approach offers clues to what lies below. Parametric studies develop the continuous shell into an inhabitable sequence.
03 / Descent
On The Ground. Beneath The Surface.
Reception, exhibitions, and meeting rooms occupy the ground level. The show flat sits below. Plate-glass openings connect the two: daylight reaches the rooms underground, and their glow returns to the landscape after dark. Going down to discover the building also becomes a way of revealing the site.
04 / Reveal
Discovering What Lies Behind The Surface.
Ground-level lighting and curved walls guide the route from reception to the displays. Walls turn inside out to reveal the materials and structure behind the estate project. The journey ends in the show flat, where those same elements come together in a domestic setting, with a finer scale of detail.
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