Reiser + Umemoto announces groundbreaking of Kaohsiung Port Terminal

After two years of planning, Reiser + Umemoto announced the groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Port Terminal happening this month in the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The architecture firm won the 2010 international competition to design the cruise ship terminal and port service center.

Reiser + Umemoto also celebrated the groundbreaking of another major Taiwanese development they won, the Taipei Pop Music Center, on June 19, 2013.

Details about the project are right below.

Project description

"A cruise ship terminal and port service center in Taiwan, Kaohsiung Port Terminal’s dynamic 3-dimensional urbanism takes advantage of the site’s unique lateral positioning with respect to the city grid.  Existing public pedestrian flows along the proposed elevated boardwalk can be amplified, rather than interrupted by creating a continuous elevated public esplanade along the waterfront. Cruise and ferry functions, meanwhile, are located just below the public level and are kept distinct to maintain secure areas for departing/arriving passengers."

"The main departure hall splits up into three different partitions, each related to a different itinerary for travelling by ship, while the concourses are oriented parallel to the waterfront to maximize the interface between water and land. By vertically separating the functions of the general public, port business, and travelers along this waterfront edge we are able to keep the various operational uses highly efficient while at the same time allowing for the synergy of mixed functions for the general public. Vertical circulation is organized around thickened zones in the building’s skin which also house structure, utilities, and ventilation. The structure is a system of nested, long-span shells, which are composed of an underlying steel pipe space frame which is sandwiched by cladding panels to create a usable cavity space. Overall an experience of directed yet functionally separated flows will lend an aura of energy to the point terminal space."

"An essential component to the vitality of the Port Terminal Project is the connection to a proposed elevated public space along the waters’ edge. The importance of this waterfront space which is distinct yet connected to the city of Kaohsiung is inestimable. The boardwalk links the new Pop Music Center, the arts and shopping districts within a green necklace along the waterfront. The boardwalk will be a 24 hour space that fosters shopping, dining, and recreation. Moreover, connection to this vital public conduit will ensure the continuous economic viability of the port terminal, sustaining and amplifying the periodic maritime uses of the cruise terminal and ferries."

Project data

Kaohsiung Port and Cruise Service Center
Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

Design: 2010 – 2012
Groundbreaking: November 2013
Construction: 2013-2014 (projected)
Size: 36,883 sq. m
Type: Cruise Terminal / Port Service Center / Retail / Restaurant
Client: Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan, ROC

Images courtesy of Reiser + Umemoto