Green exhibition home The Wheel on display at the Taichung World Flora Exposition in central Taiwan is one of two public buildings in the nation to won silver at the New York Design Awards. (Courtesy of Taichung City Government)

The newly opened National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in the southern metropolis and a green exhibition home called The Wheel on display at the Taichung World Flora Exposition in central Taiwan have won silver at the 2018 New York Design Awards.
 
Both buildings were recognized in the contest’s public and institutional architecture category that assesses materials and technology used as well as how light and shadow feature in the construction’s design.
 
NKCA, also known as Weiwuying, is the world’s largest performing arts facility under one roof. Designed by Dutch architect Francine Houben, the massive undulating structure was inspired by the shape of a canopy of banyan trees.
 
The 9.9 hectare arts center, which opened in October, boasts world-class facilities including a 2,000-person concert hall built in vineyard style—a first for Taiwan—where the audience surrounds all sides of the stage on seating that rises like sloping terraces.
 
Located in the Houli Horse Ranch and Forest Expo Site, The Wheel is a demonstration of a sustainable home, in line with the flower festival’s theme of exploring the relationship between humans and nature.
 
Designed by Taoyuan City-based Architects Uncharted in northern Taiwan, the structure is built from 95 percent recyclable materials including local wood and adobe bricks. Surrounded by forest, the circular house is powered by solar energy and harvests rainwater.
 
In addition to the New York design honor presented by Driven x Design, a global network with over 75,000 members, The Wheel also claimed silver at the London Design Awards and received an honorable mention at the U.S. Architecture Master Prize earlier this month. (CPY-E)