Taipei’s Nangang district has changed markedly over the past two decades, shifting from an industrial area once known as “Black Town” into a centre for technology, finance, and transport infrastructure. At one of its busiest junctions, Dutch architecture practice MVRDV has designed a pair of office towers shaped by pedestrian activity around Kunyang Station and intended to form a new gateway into the district.
Known as Nangang Pair, the project was designed for Taiwanese property developer JUT Group on a site where high-speed and regional rail lines converge.
Dividing the office mass to maintain urban permeability
Rather than concentrating the offices within a single slab, MVRDV has divided the programme into two towers, opening up the site towards the station and introducing a public plaza at ground level. A conventional office block, the practice suggests, would have interrupted pedestrian movement around the transport interchange.
The two towers read as a single mass split apart, with the gap between them forming a gateway towards Kunyang Station and maintaining views towards Hsin Hsin Park.
Contrasting façades define the two volumes
The project is defined by the relationship between the two volumes. Set on a shared base, they rise side by side with a narrow vertical separation, giving the impression of one building pulled apart into two parts.
Along the inner façades, recessed and projecting elements suggest portions of the mass have been shifted between the two forms. A grid of solid and void further reinforces the connection between them while adding depth to the elevations.
This contrast continues in the façade treatment. The outer faces are wrapped in a glass curtain wall with projecting mullions, while the inner faces are more restrained, using a flush system that emphasises the void between the towers.
At ground level, the buildings open onto a plaza extending towards the station. The ground floor is planned to include retail units, cafés, restaurants, and lobbies, with shared tenant facilities such as lounges and meeting rooms located on the third level. Small pavilion-like structures are placed across the plaza for seating and kiosk functions.
Design shaped by climate and seismic considerations
The scheme also incorporates measures responding to Taiwan’s environmental and seismic conditions. Cut-away corners at the base of the towers form sheltered entrances supported by inclined structural columns, allowing for open lobby spaces while meeting earthquake requirements.
Rainwater harvesting is integrated for irrigation across the roof and landscape, while detention tanks at ground level and within the raft foundation are intended to assist with flood management.
Photovoltaic panels on the roof bulkhead are planned to generate electricity for shared areas, alongside a rooftop garden for tenants.
For Nangang, the project adds another layer to the district’s ongoing redevelopment.
