a ceremony and inaugural concert marked the official opening of taiwan?s national arts centre, the ?national kaohsiung centre for the arts, weiwuying?. the undulating structure was designed by dutch architects mecanoo and incorporates a 2,236-seat opera house, a 1,981-seat concert hall, a 1,210-seat playhouse, a 434-seat recital hall, and an outdoor theater. the colossal project serves as a new cultural hub for east asia. the formal qualities of the project together with the open and artistically focused program works to combine artistic excellence with complete openness and accessibility. the heart of weiwuying is the vast, sinuous plaza encouraging pedestrian engagement and is host to a wide-range of public programs.

image by iwan baan  
 
a ceremony in the mecanoo-designed concert hall marked the beginning of the opening festivities. guests included the president of the republic of china (taiwan) tsai ing-wen, and many high-ranking representatives from the worlds of politics and culture. for the occasion, addresses were given by both the president as well as the founding partner and creative director of mecanoo architects, francine houben. taiwan?s most significant cultural investment in a generation, the national kaohsiung center for the arts, weiwuying, incorporates five separate state of the art performance spaces, covering a surface area of 35 acres. the project is sited within a a 116-acre subtropical park that was formerly a military training base. the centre ...