A twisting wood-framed roof doubles as a garden at CMP Inspiration, a museum in Taichung, Taiwan, completed by architecture studio Kengo Kuma and Associates.
Nestled below at the foot of a high-rise building, CMP Inspiration comprises two floors of exhibition space split across a ground and subterranean level.
It is topped by a green roof that swoops down to ground level at the building’s front, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates as a nod to Calligraphy Greenway – the nearby public park.
“Most of the museum was buried underground to keep the eaves low and reduce the oppressive feeling of the building,” the studio said.
“Furthermore, by integrating the roof with the ground, the roof space was opened to the city as a public space for various events and concerts,” it added.
“By creating a green museum on a site facing Calligraphy Greenway, the center of Taichung City’s green network, the public green network and private development are seamlessly connected through greenery.”
Paved walkways wind around the museum’s exterior, which is composed of a steel structure, expanses of glazing and a wooden roof.
Wooden louvres decorate the building’s eaves, to which the studio has added overhanging ivy to “blur the boundary between architecture and nature”.
Outside at ground level, CMP Inspiration is wrapped around a curving staircase, which transitions to a tiered seating area on the roof.
Inside, the two levels are connected by a statement spiral staircase and crowned by the exposed wood-framed ceiling that “reflects the twisted shape of the roof”.
The underground exhibition space has a curving layout, described by the studio as a “cave-like” space, and is finished with stark white walls.
“By creating an organic exhibition space that differs from an abstract white cube, we attempted to immerse nature into the city, both in terms of scenery and experience,” the studio said.
Elsewhere, Kengo Kuma and Associates has also recently completed an “ethereal cafe” with a mesh canopy in Fukuoka, Japan, and added a timber theatre stage to a Kyoto hotel.
The photography is by Chen Yang unless otherwise stated.
The post Kengo Kuma tops sunken museum with garden in Taiwan appeared first on Dezeen.
