Enhancing the Nangang District

Taipei’s Nangang District is an emerging urban center of commerce, technology, and entertainment, with recent additions like the Taipei Music Center transforming the formerly industrial district into a cultural hub. Adjacent to the Music Center, a new development spearheaded by the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) brings a mix of residential, commercial, retail and public spaces that enhance and extend the cultural life of the district. The project integrates four individual buildings—a 29-story office tower, two 32-story residential towers, and a three-story retail podium—into a cohesive site that complements the Music Center’s architecture while creating welcoming spaces for social gatherings, cultural events, and public programming.

The office tower’s form is inspired by an olive shell, its geometry creating a counterpoint to the bold architecture of the Taipei Music Center. Drawing on Nangang’s history and its connection to the surrounding landscape—once defined by rolling tea fields terraced into the mountainside—the design incorporates cantilevered planted balconies along the facades. These balconies provide shade, reducing solar heat gain by 35 percent, while introducing greenery vertically throughout the building. 

This biophilic approach extends to the rooftop of the three-story retail podium, conceived as a large, open civic space—a flexible, multi-functional setting that can accommodate a children’s play area, seasonal pop-up markets, and live entertainment.

Engineered for the environment

Sustainability is embedded in the project’s performance and operations, representing Taipower’s commitment to clean energy and innovation. The office tower’s high-performance curtain wall system, with operable louvers, are designed to balance daylight, fresh air, and thermal comfort. The system allows interiors to respond dynamically to changing climate conditions and reduces reliance on mechanical cooling.

The buildings are oriented to capture prevailing breezes without creating wind tunnels, supporting effective natural ventilation across the site. Rainwater harvested from rooftops is reused to irrigate the landscape. Energy is managed through an efficient, on-site battery storage system, and the office tower is designed for all-electric operation. A state-of-the-art twin elevator system—the first of its kind in Taiwan—places two independent elevator cabs within a single shaft, reducing core area, improving service efficiency, and maximizing leasable space, supporting both environmental and economic sustainability.