Did You Know That …?
- Because jurisdiction of the project changed hands, the complex has undergone a series of names, including Taichung Opera House and Taichung Metropolitan Opera. The official title has now been amended to National Taichung Theater.
- The complex's curved walls were made with prefabricated steel cages, pumped full of concrete, and reinforced with three layers of wire mesh. Project engineers even consulted with race car engineers on structural and acoustic effects.
- Architect Toyo Ito calls it his "sound cave,” explaining that he wants visitors to undergo an awakening of primitive memories and sensory experiences, as caves provided the first safe shelter for prehistoric humans.
Read more about the National Taichung Theater here or scroll down for pictures.
"Though the NTT's main attractions are its three theaters, these are upstaged by the drama of its architecture everywhere in between." – Architectural Record
A neuronal form that evokes a network of natural caves … the building establishes a relationship of continuity with the urban fabric in which it is inserted." – Architectura Viva
"The National Taichung Theater is an organism which breathes culture and sustainability." – Wallpaper*