MVRDV

“The Hidden Valley”

THE QUESTIONS AND QUESTS
How could a new ‘pop temple’ in these MP3-times form a true base for pop musicians and their fans? Expressing Taiwan’s innovation and vitality, the TPMC should be a unique building; a pop building; a rock building; a show building? Yes, but not a show-off building. It’s the show that matters and the building should facilitate that. It should draw a crowd, but also serve that same crowd without drawing too much attention, a delicate combination.

SPECIFIC & NEUTRAL
Each concert, each show is a unique experience that people want to be a part of. The building should accommodate this desire by offering maximum possibilities to create different moods each time. Each visit should contain an element of surprise. The building should combine for contrasting combinations, like a specific character vs. a neutral podium. It should be recognizable and surprising; edgy and smooth; messy but controllable.

A VENUE SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR POP MUSIC
A concert hall for pop music is different to a traditional concert hall, or an opera house. The whole event of dressing up, showing off and hanging out is part of going to any concert. But the setting and the behaviour demand something really different. A pop music building should be tough and easygoing at the same time; cosy but also easy to control.

OUTER APPERANCE: Tough and soft, rock meets pop
The outer appearance of the building and the position of the building on the site mark its image as a tough block with soft edges; rock meets pop. The interior of the lobby and the public spaces in between the different auditoria and halls inside the building address a similar ‘mood’ that combines these contrasts.

INTERIOR OF HALLS: Neutral for infinite possibilities
Once entering a specific performance space the interiors are more neutral allowing the performer to dress up the room, by lights stage sets, or just perform without any décor, just music, each artist or each night a different experience.

URBAN REACTION
The volume of the TPMC is bridging the Xin Sheng Road linking the park strip with the Nangang neighbourhood. Its basic block-like volume has been modified in a few steps into an articulated and recognizable silhouette over the road. This bridge creates a clear ‘address’ on the Zhongxiao Road in the middle of a series of shops, bars and other commercial facilities. Spicing up the street life between the two MTR-stations

OUTDOOR VENUE: Hidden Valley with Infinite Surprises
The open-air theatre acts like a hidden valley inside the building. Its presence can be sensed by the smaller bumps in the roofline of the building. The valley is a controlled outdoor performance space that forms an integral part of the building, but can function independently as well. The indoor and outdoor stages can be used together to conduct a show with tremendous possibilities, guests can move between the indoor and outdoor performances. It is also possible for a performance to play to both the outdoor and indoor quests because the backstage areas of the stages are directly connected. Once inside the valley visitors experience music, in an asymmetrical variation of the classical amphitheatre, under the stars between the city lights of Taipei. The valley can be accessed via the main lobby as well as directly via a green ramp integrated in the park strip. The outdoor valley stage can be easily serviced by trucks. The movement of the trucks and the crowds are completely separated. From an acoustical point of view the outdoor venue is also a valley. The “noise” is contained by the bowl and, due to its shape, directed towards the hills on the south side.

LOBBY
The public can enter the building from several points; the plaza, the ramps in the green park zone and the main entrances on the Zhongxiao Road. Once inside, a spacious lobby opens up, a varied 3d space formed by the space in between the volumes of the performance halls, the stacked boxes of the live houses, shops and exhibition spaces and the contours of the building volume. Boxes act as multimedia billboard for concerts.

FLOWS
The Taipei pop music center has a complex and varied program; many different activities have to take place at the same time. Routes are laid out in such a way that different activities can take place without impeding each other and where possible enrich each other.

MATERIALS AND FACADE
The building is like a sculpture, its surface is rough and rocky, where openings are cut, or pushed into the volume it is smooth and round. At night LED, s shine out creating different colour moods around the building