The technical challenges posed by the highly unusual design of the Taichung opera house can be successfully overcome, the Taichung City government announced Dec. 13.
“The technique that will be used in the construction of the building is not only one that has never been tried in Taiwan, it is also the first of its kind in the entire construction history of the world,” said Huang Ching-hsiao, director of the city government’s Department of Construction.
Countless complexities will be involved in building just the truss and steel enforcements of the opera house, said Huang, noting that its curved structure, inlaid floors and core service wall all represent challenges of their own.
The contract to build the opera house was awarded to Lee Ming Construction in September 2009, after five previous bids failed to attract suitable tenders.
Wu Chun-shan, chairman of the construction company, said engineers determined that the project was technically feasible only after more than a year of continuous testing and several on-site visits by Toyo Ito, the Japanese architect who designed the building.
He added that construction of the opera house will speed up now that the testing phase has come to an end.
The opera house is set to be completed in September 2013 at a cost of NT$4.36 billion (US$145 million), the Taichung City government said. (HZW)
Write to Grace Kuo at morningk@mail.gio.gov.tw