Tainan Art Museum Audio Guide

Tainan Art Museum: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Tainan Art Museum Building 1

   Welcome to Tainan Art Museum Building 1, known locally as 臺南市美術館1館. You are standing at the corner of Nanmen Road and You'ai Street in Tainan's West Central District, in what is often called the cultural heart of the city. This is a place where two eras meet. The main building began its life as a police headquarters, completed in 1931, and today it serves as an art museum. Behind that historic front, a modern wing now stretches out, and the two are joined by a central corridor. Inside, there is also a courtyard garden, so you can pause between galleries with some greenery over your head. Over the next few minutes, we will look at the building's police past, the clever way it was restored, the contemporary extension designed by a Pritzker Prize winner, and how the museum came to open its doors. Take a moment now to look at the façade in front of you, because it has a lot to say.

2. 02

   From Police Station to Gallery: Tainan Art Museum Building 1

   Before it hung paintings, this building kept watch over the city. The main structure was the Tainan Police Station, completed in 1931. It was designed under the supervision of the civil engineering division of Tainan Prefecture, with engineer Umezawa Sutejiro as the designer. It is built in the Art Deco style, which you can sense in its clean, confident lines. The same architect also designed the Hayashi Department Store, the famous landmark just a short walk away. In 1998, the police building was designated a municipal historic monument, and it remains one of the police station buildings of its kind still standing in Taiwan. Its police career lasted for decades. The police bureau's operations moved out to Xinying in 2010, and the following year the empty building was chosen as the site of Tainan's new art museum. A building that once represented authority was about to be reborn as a space for imagination.

3. 03

   Restoring the Details at Tainan Art Museum Building 1

   Look closely at the brick walls, because they carry a lovely detail. The surface is made of unglazed bricks, each marked with 13 grooves, which is where their name comes from. The same type of brick appears on the former Tainan Weather Station and on the Hayashi Department Store, so these neighbors share a family resemblance. The bricks were not always this earthy yellow-brown. In the 1970s they were painted red, with white lines added, so that police buildings would share a recognizable look. As the museum project went forward, that paint was gradually removed, and the walls have returned to their original color. Inside, the restoration reached the roof and ceilings. In the west and south wings, the original jointed timber roof members were repaired, and the Japanese-style coffered ceiling was kept. Even the foundations needed care. A brick drain running beneath the ground toward Nanmen Road had cracked and hollowed out with age, so the builders strengthened the foundation and filled the voids with mortar to keep the structure sound.

4. 04

   Light and Glass: The Modern Wing of Tainan Art Museum Building 1

   The new wing is where this museum turns from the past toward the present. The restoration and expansion were jointly designed by Shigeru Ban Architects, led by Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, and by Joe Shih Architects. An international design competition result announced in September 2014 named a team that included Shigeru Ban's office, the same year he received the Pritzker. Behind the old police building, the designers added a new structure with three floors above ground and one below. A central corridor links old and new, and walking through it is meant to give you a distinctive sensory experience. Visitors describe the contrast: heavy historic masonry on one side, then sunlight pouring through transparent glass on the other. All together, the Building 1 galleries offer about 1,553 square meters of exhibition space, with 10 exhibition rooms, a light refreshment area, collection storage, and spaces for artwork conservation and testing. The old building is also fan-shaped, wrapping around a garden courtyard in the middle.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off from Tainan Art Museum Building 1

   The museum had a gentle start. Trial operations began on the 17th of October in 2018, and the official opening followed on the 27th of January in 2019. The first exhibitions were fittingly self-reflective: an architectural restoration show, a show of donated collection works, and a show about artwork conservation. The museum is also known for being the only art museum in Taiwan combining scientific research, painting restoration and the status of an administrative corporation. Its neighbor, the museum's second building, now has its own independent story as well. As you wander, try a small game. Compare the warm brick of the old walls with the bright glass of the new wing, and notice where one era hands over to the next. Then step into the courtyard garden and see what the building looks like from the inside. What other details can you spot that hint at its police past?