taipei's blue house pavilion depicts spatial fragmentation

touring the irregular blue house pavilion in taipei

Blue House is a temporary pavilion designed by architect duo Wei Chieh Kung and Lydia Ya Chu Chang in the summer of 2022. Sited on the outdoor plaza of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan, the structure, painted in blue, combines timber and steel into a 198-square-meter volume, rotated 5° from the museum’s axis. It spans two staircases with two sides, one pentagonal and the other triangular, with a height that varies between 4.4 and 3.1 meters. The eaves reach no more than 1.3 meters above ground, and a gap is left between the undulating floor and eaves, giving the appearance of an accidental opening.

image © Studio Millspace | @studio_millspace

a multifaceted design of Timber, Steel, and Light

Throughout the Blue House in Taipei, Wei Chieh Kung and Lydia Ya Chu Chang (see more here) scattered object-like structures, seemingly as individual sculptures that, together, evoke a fragmented identity. From the rear of the pavilion, a hidden entrance, concealed behind the oval wall, leads to a big space within. Covered entirely by the exposed timber roof, connected only through the skylights and the eave gaps, it is open yet enclosed, simultaneously merged into and transcended from its surroundings. Disintegrated into areas, the continuous space reshapes endlessly with the undulations, objects, and light. ‘Sometimes it is for a group and sometimes for a person. Sometimes it is home. And sometimes it is marble soda, rib bone, raindrop, cave, and page number,’ shares the duo.

image © Studio Millspace

Wei Chieh Kung and Lydia Ya Chu Chang invite art performances

Throughout the summer, a public art program took shape at the Blue House pavilion in Taipei, dubbed Blue House Study. Wei Chieh Kung and Lydia Ya Chu invited a series of artists to perform with no rehearsals and no predicted end, exploring the infinite possibilities of improvisation. The public joined in, immersing themselves in the blue space with their bodily senses. ‘They participate by being there. Experiences never end; they will take us to places we have never been. Blue House Study and Blue House form an indispensable rapport between emptiness and substance’ conclude the architects.

image © Studio Millspace

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image © Pinti Zheng

image © Blue House

image © Wei Chieh Kung

image © Studio Millspace

image © Yuro Huang

image © Jia Ying Chiu

image © Henry Wu

project info:

name: Blue House | @bluehousebluehouse

location: Taipei, Taiwan

lead architects: Wei Chieh Kung, Lydia Ya Chu Chang | @lydiachuchang

design team: Jia Ying Chiu, Chun Hung, Wei Ke Cheng, Kai Chi Huang, Ming Han Lee,
Fred Yuan Fu Chiou, Hao Wen Lin, Ting An Lu
structural designer: Ken Chia Chang
structural engineer: AS.studio

engineering consultant: Kuan Fan Chen, Pei Lun Wu
public program artists: Aloïs Yang, Yen Chun Lin, Chiyou Dean, Yu De Lin, Tzu Ni Hung, Nai Wen Hsu, Dialogue in the Dark Taipei, Sheng Hung Yang, Samantha Fan, Pao Leng Kung, Canjune, Chen Chen, Yi Fan Chuang
visual artist: Chih Yi Wu

timber contractor: Te Feng Lumber Co., Ltd
construction: Tien Tai Civil Engineering Construction, Sheng Long Wood Industry

completion date: May 20, 2022
demolition date: July 31, 2022
gross built area: 198 sqm

lea zeitoun I designboom

aug 02, 2024