08 Oct Taiwan’s Activity Center Receives the Architecture MasterPrize 2019

Taiwan’s Activity Center Receives the Architecture MasterPrize 2019

The Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) organization has selected IMO and JC Cheng Architects, associates and planners’ Xiafu Activity Center as Winner in this year’s 2019 Best Institutional Architecture category. AMP honors designs in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture with the goal of advancing the appreciation of architecture worldwide and showcasing world-class talent and visionaries in those fields. Xiafu’s design was evaluated by AMP’s esteemed Jury, with such notable luminaries as J.J. Pan (Founder and Principal of J.J. Pan and Partners, Architects and Planners), Graham Morrison (Founder and Principal of Allies and Morrison), and Spela Videcnik (Harvard Graduate School of Design/ Ofis Architects).

The Activity Center, completed in 2017 and located in New Taipei City, Linkou, was commissioned to give local community members a place to come together for cultural gatherings and events. The design challenges conventional notions of what an Activity center can and should be, translating the adjacent Hongfu Gong temple’s traditional design language into the now iconic colourful colonnade and sweeping roofline that have made it so famous on social media sites. These elements combine in sum to appeal to multitude of generations, creating an important intersection point between Taiwan’s important traditional culture and the youth of the next generation as more and more travel from outside the community to visit the site.