"Curio Box"
Situated between the mountains and the Dahan River in southern Taipei, the New Taipei City Museum of Art (NTCArt) is conceived as a vertical "urban totem" designed to minimize its ground footprint. Reinterpreting the traditional Chinese curio box, the architecture stacks distinct, varying-scale volumetric boxes to house a hybrid museum program while framing panoramic vistas of the surrounding landscape through elevated "urban windows."
Architectural Concept & Spatial Metaphor
The Vertical Curio Box: A composite museum structure where individual spatial boxes—varying in scale, height, and depth—are stacked within a primary volume. Each box acts as a specialized container for specific contemporary art typologies, permanent collections, and interactive spaces.
Urban Windows: Strategic cut-outs, semi-outdoor terraces, and perimeter rest areas create framed views of the island of Taipei, the river valley, and mountain ridges at varying elevations throughout the visitor journey.
Urban Gate & Landscape Continuity: The ground-floor entrance lobby functions as an open landscape passage, establishing a direct pedestrian link between the Ceramic Art Plaza, the Art Workshop, and the surrounding public parkland.
Programmatic & Operational Strategy
Fluid Civic Ground Plane: The main lobby acts as a porous distribution hub surrounded by a restaurant, bookstore, and gift shop, offering independent circulation paths to each museum sector.
Multi-Typology Integration: Combines special exhibition spaces, permanent collection galleries, an educational center, and a dedicated Children’s Museum of Art into a single interconnected complex.
Layered Microclimates: Vegetated roof planes and semi-outdoor exhibit terraces buffer internal climate zones while offering sheltered outdoor display areas for large-scale installations.
Situated between the mountains and the Dahan River in southern Taipei, the New Taipei City Museum of Art (NTCArt) is conceived as a vertical "urban totem" designed to minimize its ground footprint. Reinterpreting the traditional Chinese curio box, the architecture stacks distinct, varying-scale volumetric boxes to house a hybrid museum program while framing panoramic vistas of the surrounding landscape through elevated "urban windows."
Architectural Concept & Spatial Metaphor
The Vertical Curio Box: A composite museum structure where individual spatial boxes—varying in scale, height, and depth—are stacked within a primary volume. Each box acts as a specialized container for specific contemporary art typologies, permanent collections, and interactive spaces.
Urban Windows: Strategic cut-outs, semi-outdoor terraces, and perimeter rest areas create framed views of the island of Taipei, the river valley, and mountain ridges at varying elevations throughout the visitor journey.
Urban Gate & Landscape Continuity: The ground-floor entrance lobby functions as an open landscape passage, establishing a direct pedestrian link between the Ceramic Art Plaza, the Art Workshop, and the surrounding public parkland.
Programmatic & Operational Strategy
Fluid Civic Ground Plane: The main lobby acts as a porous distribution hub surrounded by a restaurant, bookstore, and gift shop, offering independent circulation paths to each museum sector.
Multi-Typology Integration: Combines special exhibition spaces, permanent collection galleries, an educational center, and a dedicated Children’s Museum of Art into a single interconnected complex.
Layered Microclimates: Vegetated roof planes and semi-outdoor exhibit terraces buffer internal climate zones while offering sheltered outdoor display areas for large-scale installations.
Client
New Taipei City Government
Program
Contemporary Museum, Children’s Museum, Public Service Spaces, Administrative Spaces,
and Parking
Partner in charge
Toshihiro KUBOTA
Local Architect
LYA Architects & Planners
Landscape Architect
Bassinet Turquin Paysage
Ingenieurs Structure
Bollinger+Grohmann Ingenieure / Klaas De Rycke
Architects
Anthony Thevenon
Marine Rouanet
Artist Collaboration
Clement Valla
New Taipei City Government
Program
Contemporary Museum, Children’s Museum, Public Service Spaces, Administrative Spaces,
and Parking
Partner in charge
Toshihiro KUBOTA
Local Architect
LYA Architects & Planners
Landscape Architect
Bassinet Turquin Paysage
Ingenieurs Structure
Bollinger+Grohmann Ingenieure / Klaas De Rycke
Architects
Anthony Thevenon
Marine Rouanet
Artist Collaboration
Clement Valla