Santiago Calatrava Announces New Project in Asia

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Yuan Ze University in Taiwan, affiliated with Far Eastern Group, one of Taiwan's largest industrial conglomerates, has commissioned world-renowned architect, engineer and artist, Santiago Calatrava to design an ambitious new building complex for its campus. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120202/NY46077)

The project will consist of a Performing Arts Center, a new Art and Design school and the Y.Z. Hsu Memorial Hall, which is dedicated to the university's founder, Mr. Yu-Ziang Hsu. The Performing Arts Center will house a 1,200 seat concert hall and a 500 seat theater that can be used for both traditional and experimental performances.

Situated adjacent to the main campus entrance, Calatrava's three buildings will serve as a gateway to the University's cultural contribution to education and the arts. In addition to providing the region with a beautiful new landmark, the project is also expected to significantly boost northern Taiwan's educational endeavors on an international scale.

"In order for this multi-functional complex to serve as a pillar of growth for the University and act as a bridge to the surrounding community, the design must be sensitive to the deep cultural history that is prevalent throughout Taiwan," said Santiago Calatrava. "Yuan Ze University has already contributed greatly to Taiwan's cultural enrichment through the leadership of its board of trustees and I wanted to build upon this."

For his architectural debut in Taiwan, Calatrava chose to explore new formal and spatial themes found within the local art and architecture. The Performing Arts Building, which sits at the center of the complex, is defined by a dramatic curving roof that evokes traditional Chinese/Taiwanese architecture. At its base are the Y.Z. Hsu Memorial and Art and Design School. Like temples surrounded by water, their forms are expressed through steel ribs that form each building's roof. 

"Indeed we are deeply impressed and moved by the special attention Santiago Calatrava has paid to his first project in Asia," said Douglas Tong Hsu, Chairman and CEO of Yuan Ze University. "He truly shows the uniqueness of the three buildings with different characters and creates an intriguing special experience. While each building would need to fulfill its exceptional functions, the ingenious arrangement of the complex has somehow cohered the activities all together. Coexisting with the water and to the green that surround the site, it is truly a sustainable and innovative design, meeting the requirements of the Performing Art Center, the Art School and the Memorial."

The new building complex at Yuan Ze University is one of several educational structures that Calatrava is currently working on. In Italy, the famed architect is overseeing his master plan for the University of Rome Tor Vergata's campus, while in the United States, construction is starting on Calatrava's master plan for the University of South Florida Polytechnic's new campus.

MEDIA CONTACT

For additional information and/or images of Santiago Calatrava's Yuan Ze University project, please contact Jacqueline Platt Godsey at Corbin-Hillman Communications at (646) 233-0465 or [email protected].

ABOUT SANTIAGO CALATRAVA

Santiago Calatrava's name has been most closely associated with his celebrated designs of bridges and transportation centers built throughout the world. Highlights of his work include designs for: The Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin (2001), the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (2004), the Light Rail Train Bridge in Jerusalem (2007) the Quarto Ponte sul Canal Grande in Venice (2008) and the Liege-Guillemins TGV Railway Station in Belgium (2009). He is currently working on a variety of design and construction projects throughout the world including: The World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York; the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas; The Peace Bridge in Calgary; Citta dello Sport, Rectorate and Campus Master Plan for Roma II University in Tor Vergata, Italy and Yuan Ze University in Taiwan.

SOURCE Santiago Calatrava