Opening of 'Weiwuying' in Taiwan Set

The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts was one of the "18 for '18" projects we highlighted in January: 18 significant projects set for completion before the end of the year. Located in Kaohsiung, a large city in the south of Taiwan, the building occoupies the site of a former military base. But Mecanoo's Francine Houben looked to nature rather than history for inspiration, designing an undulating structure that recalls the interlocking canopies of local Banyan trees. Billed as "the world’s largest performing arts centre under one roof," the 141,000 m2 building contains five performance spaces that range in size from a 470-seat recital hall to a 2,260-seat opera house and includes a covered plaza accessible to the public.

Watch a nighttime aerial video (2:48) of the nearly completed building:

And for more information on the design of the building and its performance halls, the structural engineering that went into the undulating form, and the building's construction, this 17-minute video from 2014 is worth watching: