studio APL turns a military bunker into a multimedia gallery in taiwan

two old air-raid shelters in yunlin, taiwan, have been repaired and transformed into a gallery to learn about the horrors of war. the project, called ‘hiddenscape’, has been realized been studio APL in collaboration with tai-yi associates. first built in 1943, the military bunker now invites people to re-experience the threats of war and to commemorate the soldiers who fought and lost their lives.

images by yi-hsien lee photography

studio APL and tai-yi associates worked to patch up the air-raid shelters, clean up the air vents, and re-introduce sunlight indoors. the larger shelter is now a media gallery, which is divided into an area for virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). in the VR room, visitors are brought back to world war II, where they can send morse code by waving their hands. as for the MR area, visitors can sit against the wall and immerse themselves in the past thanks to images projected across the ceiling of the bunker.

the mixed reality room in the larger air-raid shelter

the smaller air-raid shelter retains the original spatial pattern of structure. this is done to emphazise the contrast between the basic wartime function and the reborn design. outside, a curved bench and lasercut plaque serve as an introduction to the immersive experience that lies inside. while a circular array of paving invites people to step inside the unassuming entrance.

speaker detail in the mixed reality room

virtual reality area

display area

skylight detail in the larger air-raid shelter

exhibition room in the small air-raid shelter

passageway

plaza bench and bunker entrance

a misty forest path outside the bunker

the repaired wall of a small air-raid shelter

before and after

a circular array of paving leads people inside the bunker

project info:

project name: hiddenscape – reuse military bunker to multimedia zone

program: exhibition center

location: yunlin, taiwan

site area: 51,947 ft2 (4,826 m2)

indoor area: 3,229 ft2 (300 m2)

height: 15.75ft (4.8m)

structure: concrete and brick

completion date: august 2020

architecture office: studio APL & tai-yi associates

principal partners in charge: pei-an li & pei-chen li

design team: yu-feng sung, tsan-ju yang, chun-yo liu

new media design: corma new media

organizer: yunlin county government information department

photography: yi-hsien lee photography

video production team: the solution inc.

artist team: yan-rong chen, tsan-yuan su, yan-ru yang

operation team: cheese creative inc., dot & associates, and rising sun integrated marketing partner

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom