taichung metropolitan opera house by toyo ito under construction

‘taichung metropolitan opera house’ by toyo ito, taichung, taiwanimage © lee ming

construction is well under way on recent pritzker laureate toyo ito‘s ‘taichung metropolitan opera house’ in taiwan. the porous three-dimensional sponge-like design is an ecosystem in itself. advanced building systems are implemented to recycle rainwater, passively control temperature and light, and even influence the sustainability of the surrounding sites. the most challenging aspect of the project by far is the construction of the organic interior.

a mesh of steel beams lays the foundation for the three-dimensional curving walls, shaped by a smaller metal mesh and finally solidified in ‘shotcrete’, a spray-able concrete used in tunnel work. it is applied in two layers, the bulk of the structure is sprayed on with a pre-mixed batch to get the massing as accurate as possible. afterwards, workers plaster over with a slightly different concrete mix by hand to get the exact size and textures desired. it is without a doubt the first structure in the world to implement such methods at this scale and will eventually encase three theaters of  200, 800, and 2000 seats in a transformed block of taichung.

for more information, see designboom’s earlier coverage of the project here.

aerial view

three-dimensional curved wall constructionimage courtesy of bloomberg news

auditorium substructure

more images of the ongoing construction can be found here.