The Taichung Art Museum officially opened on December 13, 2025, establishing a major new destination for contemporary art in Taiwan. Designed by the acclaimed Japanese firm SANAA, the museum anchors the ambitious Taichung Green Museumbrary project, which merges a contemporary art museum with public library functions. Located in the Shuinan Trade and Economic Park on the edge of Central Park, the complex occupies land that served as a military airfield until 2004. Local firm Ricky Liu & Associates partnered with SANAA to realize this vision of creating an international cultural hub for Taichung. The inaugural exhibition, "A Call of All Beings: See You Tomorrow, Same Time, Same Place," runs through April 12, 2026, and explores relationships between people, nature, and urban environments.
The architectural design comprises eight interconnected buildings covering 58,016 square meters, making it SANAA's largest cultural project to date. Semi-transparent materials such as glass and expanded metal mesh create an open, luminous character that dissolves traditional boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. A central atrium featuring a lightweight mesh structure channels natural light deep into the building while a spiral ramp connects multiple gallery levels. Approximately 40,000 square feet of indoor exhibition space is supplemented by outdoor areas, sky bridges, and a roof-level cultural forest. Some buildings are elevated to form shaded public zones at ground level, encouraging community interaction.
The revolutionary concept behind the Green Museumbrary intentionally merges museum and library functions to foster interdisciplinary engagement. This integration creates an inclusive environment where reading, exhibitions, and cultural activities coexist without traditional institutional barriers. The ramp system linking galleries produces a continuous experiential sequence rather than isolated rooms. Public programs and educational initiatives encourage visitors to explore connections between visual arts and literature. The design prioritizes accessibility and visual continuity, making art and knowledge available to all community members.
The opening exhibition features over 90 works by 70 artist groups from more than 20 countries, showcasing a diverse range of media. Co-curated by Chow Ling-Chih from Taiwan, Alaina Claire Feldman from the United States, and Anca Mihuleţ-Kim from Romania, the show responds directly to SANAA's transparent, flowing architecture. The exhibition includes newly commissioned pieces, works from the museum's permanent collection of postwar and contemporary Taiwanese art, and significant international loans. Video installations, sculptures, paintings, and archival materials create cross-generational dialogues about land, nature, and space.
Five subthemes structure the exhibition: "How to Draw a Coastline?", "Recalling Fables", "Folds and Flows", "The Troubling of Natural Histories", and "When the World Begins to Speak". These sections examine how cities govern nature and negotiate environmental coexistence through multiple cultural and species perspectives. Several large-scale, site-specific installations extend into the museum's public spaces, directly engaging with the building's architecture. The exhibition's subtitle, "See You Tomorrow, Same Time, Same Place," emphasizes the museum's commitment to ongoing community dialogue and mutual care through arts.
Under director Yi-Hsin Lai's leadership, the Taichung Green Museumbrary represents SANAA's first public building in Taiwan and sets a new standard for cultural institutions. The museum will host international exhibitions and exchange programs while nurturing local artistic practices. This opening coincides with other major global museum projects, including Kéré Architecture's Las Vegas Museum of Art, scheduled for 2029, and a Zaha Hadid Architects retrospective in Shenzhen. As cultural institutions worldwide reimagine their roles, Taichung's integrated model demonstrates how architecture can create fluid, accessible spaces that bring art, knowledge, and community together in innovative ways.
