YILAN NATIONAL MUSEUM: TAIWAN
Every culture strives for its identity by mean of architectural manifestation. Their formal language often depicts the nature of porosity that any culture ready to absorb by new means in conversation with global imperatives. It is difficult to comment on aspiration of any such endeavor but its very approach that designer solemnly aspired to bring about value system that align itself to its own can be questionable.
The National museum at Yilan is an exciting building from stand point of general perception and similar architectural concern. Firstly by its context and secondly by its language. The building contextually sits close to coastal region visibly connected to island which once had strategic significance in WW II. The island has tapering natural form which has some psychological significance locals.
The architect has almost imbibe the natural form the the island. The formal language of museum is reminiscent of high modernism of 1960's esthetically reminder of early work of I.M Pei and Philip Johnson. The form is precisely chiseled out with precision of almost close to aircraft technology. Every detail of building is destined to follow the matrix that has be set by the system. Its some kind of involute trap that high modernist were engulfed. Every metal panel and granite slabs fits accuretely as it can be in it's position with no margin of error.
As one enters the main atrium space, its very appearance that why and how all high modernist fell into trap of being subservient to geometry as language. However the contrast of naturally litted attrium space dominates the museum but entire diplay areas strangely litted by artificial lights. It brings about the argument that how architecture can problematised its own existance. The most naturally aspired form resort on most artificial condition to exist, withing which formal language and materiality is suspended.
Is architecture destined to last or is it an temporary experiment on our value system...? my concern are always mediated among realities that what are the architectural metaphors & aspirations are for....? what are the value system that we strive for....? What multi-disciplinary destined for...? can't architecture exist itself without any external props...? can't space itself be its own metaphors of architecture.....? However urgent the needs of architects to express oneself....or use external support system of multi-disciplinarian nature......the streets are definitely not the laboratory for the experiments.
