New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts: Reeds by the Dahan River and an "Unfinished" Urban Aesthetic

30-Second Overview: On April 25, 2025, the New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts officially opened to the public in Yingge. Designed by architect Kris Yao (姚仁喜), this project took ten years and nearly NT$3 billion to complete. Inspired by the reeds along the Dahan River, it transforms 3,200 silver aluminum tubes into an artistic imagery that sways with the wind. However, from the initial international design competition to repeated failed bids, budget increases, and the post-opening controversy regarding its status as a "mosquito museum" (a small, underutilized facility), the new museum is more than just a temple of art; it reflects the complex tensions in Taiwan's cultural development and public resource allocation.

A Silver Forest by the Dahan River: The Birth of Reed Imagery

In 2015, the results of the international design competition for the New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts were announced. Kris Yao | Kris Yao-Architect Studio (姚仁喜│大元建築工場) emerged victorious with the concept of a "museum within a reed thicket," defeating numerous international teams ¹. The inspiration for this design stems from the natural landscape at the museum's site—the confluence of the Yingge River and the Dahan River—specifically the reeds that sway in the wind during autumn and winter. Architect Kris Yao translated this local imagery into a modern vocabulary, using 3,200 circular, sandblasted aluminum tubes of varying heights to construct a silver "reed thicket" that appears to grow naturally from the riverbank ².

Kris Yao once described his approach as using the language of cinematography to plan the museum³, attempting to make the architecture itself a narrative that guides viewers through the space, experiencing the interplay of light, shadow, and texture. This is not merely a tribute to the natural environment but a deep response to the local history and culture of Yingge, subtly integrating elements such as the stones from the dried riverbeds of the Duchen River, and the scale and red-brick architecture of the old streets in Yingge and Sanxia ⁴.

📝 Curator's Note: A good piece of architecture does more than provide function; it should be able to tell a story about the land and its people. The reed imagery of the new museum is an embodiment of this narrative power.

A Ten-Year Sword: From 10 Failed Bids to a 3-Billion-Dollar Commitment

The construction of the New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts was not smooth sailing. Since the design was finalized in 2015, the main construction projects underwent more than ten failed bids ⁵, primarily due to the unique architectural design and the complexity of construction. This led not only to severe delays in the construction schedule but also to continuous budget increases. Lee Si-chuan (李四川), who was serving as the Deputy Mayor of New Taipei City at the time, once revealed that because the project could not be tendered out, the design team suggested a budget increase of 400 million TWD; he "approved" this additional funding while Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) was traveling abroad, allowing the project to proceed ⁵.

Ultimately, after ten years of preparation and construction at a cost of nearly NT$3 billion, the museum officially opened on April 25, 2025 ⁶. This long process tested the determination of the New Taipei City Government and reflected the challenges and trade-offs often faced in promoting large-scale public works in Taiwan. Kris Yao once said: "Designing a cultural building from scratch provides an architect with the opportunity to redefine the land" ⁷. This persistence may have been precisely intended to plant a brand-new cultural landmark in the soil of Yingge.

A Museum for All: An Artistic Neighborhood Without Walls

With the mission of being a "Museum for All," the New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts includes not only the main building—comprising 8 floors above ground and 3 floors below—but also planned diverse spaces such as a Children's Museum, an outdoor art neighborhood, restaurants, and a bookstore ⁸. The design philosophy emphasizes breaking the closed nature of traditional museums by connecting through open outdoor spaces with the surrounding Sanying Art Village and the Yingge Ceramics Museum, forming a vast field for artistic living. During its opening period, the museum also held six consecutive weekends of opening events, including architectural light projections, light installations, performances, and themed markets, attempting to attract broader public participation ⁹.

This "decentralized" model of art promotion aims to bring art closer to people's lives, ensuring it is no longer an inaccessible temple. Through outdoor art installations and interactive experiences, the museum hopes to create an environment where both adults and children can freely explore and engage with art, truly realizing its founding vision of being "rooted in the local, facing the world" ⁴.

A "Mosquito Museum" or a Cultural Cradle? Unfinished Challenges

However, less than one year after its opening, the New Taipei City Museum of Fine Arts has faced online skepticism regarding its status as a "mosquito museum" ¹⁰. Some netizens have pointed out that even on weekends, crowds within the museum remain relatively sparse, and both the exhibition content and circulation planning have faced criticism. This phenomenon is not unique to this museum; many public museums in Taiwan often face the challenge of declining attendance following the initial opening craze, due to insufficient surrounding amenities, shallow local connections, or unclear operational positioning ¹¹.

📝 Curator's Note: The value of a museum should not be measured solely by the size of its crowds. More importantly, it must be able to continuously stimulate local cultural vitality and accumulate its own unique narrative throughout the passage of time.

The "reed thicket" imagery of the new museum may also serve as a metaphor for its "unfinished" state within urban aesthetics. It is both an important milestone in the cultural development of New Taipei City and a vessel for the challenges of sustaining operations, deepening local connections, and finding its own identity amidst the clamor of many voices. Whether this silver forest by the Han River can truly become a cultural cradle for Taiwanese art, rather than merely an architectural exclamation mark, remains to be seen by time ¹².

Further Reading:

• Matsu International Art Island — A case study of the same struggle between public cultural investment and actual effectiveness: The Lienchiang County Government's ten-year curatorial plan features uncalculable growth rates in visitor numbers, and its budget has never been made public.

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