MVRDV reveal concept for twin high-rises with interactive facades

MVRDV have released designs for twin towers in Taipei, planned to re-establish the city’s central station area as a premier location for shopping, working and tourism. In order to give the area a strong identity as Taiwan’s answer to Times Square, the concept includes a vertical series of blocks wrapped with distinctive façades featuring interactive media screens both for advertising and art. 

The neighbourhood surrounding the site includes a mixture of small buildings and larger towers. MVRDV’s proposal combines these two scales, with the main visual impact provided by the connected plinths housing retail units. The offices, cinema and hotels are contained within two towers of 337 and 280 meters, providing the dominant impression of the complex when seen from afar. 

At ground level, a sunken plaza includes structures for public services and events, marking the former locations of the original station and turning the area into a kind of archaeological study. Outside, escalators and walkways connect the terraces on top of the retail blocks together, while an elevated walkway links the station with the surrounding destinations.

Thanks to the small size of the retail blocks, each contains just a small number of tenants – and in many cases, a single store. This opens up the possibility that each block could communicate its unique character through an individual façade. The use of façades as a display also opens up the possibility of showing major cultural spectacles and hosting adverts.

Winy Maas, MVRDV principal and co-founder, stated: “Arriving at Taipei Central Station is currently an anti-climax. The immediate area does not reveal the metropolitan charms and exciting quality that the Taiwanese metropolis has to offer. Our Taipei Twin Towers proposal will turn this area into the downtown that Taipei deserves, with its vibrant mixture of activities matched only by the vibrant collection of façade treatments on the stacked neighbourhood above. This is the place we want to celebrate New Year!”

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

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