National Museum of Taiwan History-Taiwan History Park

A Diverse Architectural Dialogue

Four images related to Taiwan -“Sailing”, “Sandbanks”, “Cloud Wall”, and “Integration” - are the central themes behind the design of the Museum. The pond in the front of the Museum symbolizes the Taiwan Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, where shipwrecks were often the only welcome awaiting early immigrants. The Water Stage on the Grand Plaza captures the surprise and excitement when sailors first saw the sandbank, like the humpback of a whale, on Taiwan's southwest coast. The Cloud Wall that greets every Museum visitor reflects the magnificent sky and signifies a bright future full of hope. The Exhibition and Education Building and Administration and Collection Building in the Park exhibit a fusion of a Han-style red-brick siheyuan and indigenous-style stilt and stone slab architecture. The spatial design also harmonizes with the natural environment, achieving a symbiotic embrace of architecture and nature.

The Water Stage
The design concept is derived from the image of “Sandbanks”. The island-like public art, as if floating between the sky and the sea, captures visitors imagination and enables visitors to experience Taiwan's diverse and rich landscapes once they enter the Museum. “Sandbanks” refers to a series of sand hills outside the original west coast of Taiwan formed by lagoons. Early immigrants crossing the Black Ditch to Taiwan named them "Kunshen" according to their first impression of the island of Taiwan.
The Cloud Wall
The Cloud Wall was erected through the sponsorship of the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs. It is not only one of Taiwan's classic photovoltaic generators but also an eyecatching, iconic image of the Museum. The Cloud Wall is made up of 1,755 panels, including 1,350 solar panels and 405 pieces of stamped glass, spelling out "National Museum of Taiwan History." The Cloud Wall not only symbolizes our forebears crossing the seas, but is also an eco-friendly facility that generates power for the Museum.
Administration and Collection Building
The exterior of the Administration and Collection Building combines stonewalls with the columns of indigenous stilt houses. An impression of "emptiness" is created with steel and large French windows in the administration office while an impression of "fullness" is generated by the solid stone design of the archives room. The tension between emptiness and fullness generated by these different media creates a dialogue between the two spaces. Moreover, the interplay of light and shadow among the window frames brings the structures to life. It is the first time a building project in Taiwan has combined a load-bearing wall, reinforced steel columns and precast and three-way prestressed structures.
The Exhibition and Education Building
The architecture of the Exhibition and Education Building draws on the concept of the traditional red-brick siheyuan with a base that combines the columns of indigenous stilt housing. High atrium space is created above the second floor to create a sense of expanse. Further spaces connected with the exterior are reserved on each floor to accentuate a harmonious dialogue between architecture and nature. The Exhibition and Education Building is designed with a precast and three-way prestressed structure, constructed and assembled by floors and walls formed by architectural concrete. It marks a huge breakthrough in the construction technology of Taiwanese museums.

Public Art

臺灣歷史語境

創作者／陶亞倫、劉中興

設置年代／2012年

The history of Taiwan does not just comprise past episodes, but includes a dialogue between the past and the present, the individual and the group, and human cultures and nature. Adopting such a historical dialogue as the design concept, the timeline of public art in the Museum begins from Taiwan in ancient times, Taiwan in the contemporary times, Taiwan in the present to Taiwan in the future and finally circles back to Taiwan in ancient times, demonstrating that Taiwan history is an act of constant interpretation and an endless cycle. “A Narrative on Taiwan's History” is represented by three artworks “Sailing to the Dream Land“, "Harmony", and "The Origin of Taiwan: the Future Island". Combined with the main design concepts of the Museum--“Sailing”, “Sandbanks”, “Cloud Wall”, and “Integration”, these public art works not only generate a dialogue between the past, the present and the future but also form a connection between the public, public art and issues relating to history and culture. Once visitors enter the park, they enter into a historical dialogue through the interface of public art. The Museum serves as a platform where social consciousness, public intelligence and mass concepts come together.

創作的時間軸從「遠古臺灣」、「近代臺灣」、「當代臺灣」到「未來臺灣」，而「未來臺灣」又返歸到「遠古臺灣」，可以說臺灣歷史是持續不斷的解釋與輪迴。

臺灣歷史語境──I

Sailing to the Dream Land
“Sailing to the Dream Land” features one of the important public art pieces, located near the parking bay of Changhe Rd., entering visitors’ line of sight as they approach the Museum. Made from steel and with a mechanical structure and an engine, this huge oar-shaped power plant illustrates the concept of many people cooperating to row a boat in order to cross rough seas. In addition, the work displays the image of a flying bird, indicating the hopefulness of early immigrants. This public art work not only describes the story where a sandbank transforms into a large flying bird but also ignites visitors' imagination of the courage of early immigrants to Taiwan in pursuing their freedom and embracing future possibilities.

臺灣歷史語境──I I

"Harmony"
"Harmony" is a stainless steel ball-like sculpture, located on the road to the museum. With floral patterns engraved by laser, the flower-blossom image of "Harmony" symbolizes the fusion of cultures and races in Taiwan. At the center of the floral ball is a pentagon, with each face connected to a hexagon. Its geometrical arrangement of patterns is similar to a football. At the center of the pentagon are a broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly and an indigenous cinnamon tree. As a symbol of various ethnic groups, the broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly is connected to five kinds of flowers. From left to right are the Taiwan lily, Taiwan rhododendron, Taiwan cherry, butterfly orchid, and Taiwan hibiscus. Each floral image features a particular image of Taiwan, expressing the life style of a certain group or immigrants memories of their hometown and Taiwan. Transforming paper cutting skills into engraving, “Harmony” uses hollowed out patterns collaged onto the ball. Inside the ball is an illumination system. The illumination system turns on at night, making this public art work a shining lantern.
Original Formosan Island of the Future
This piece is closest to the Museum and is the most frequently-visited public art work. Based on current satellite images of Taiwan, geographical structures of landscapes of Taiwan are further added by computer graphics. This public art work attempts to show an image of Taiwan in its original and undeveloped form. The same digital image is also reproduced in quartz tiles. Located on the plaza at the west side of the Museum this public work not only represents history but also poses a question of reality. The same image, Island of the Future, displays a reflection of the civilization of city and industrial development, the promotion of Taiwan as a green technology island, expressing the hope that Taiwan can return to its pure and natural state.