Architectural Overview

Introduction

The Asia University Museum of Modern Art took nearly six years to complete and officially opened on October 24, 2013. It marks Ando’s first architectural work in Taiwan.

In his concept, Ando sought to create an “environmental art museum” — a space where art, design, and the surrounding campus landscape coexist harmoniously. Sculptural installations are thoughtfully integrated into the outdoor areas, transforming the entire university campus into a living artwork.

Ando envisioned the museum as a place for contemplation and returning to the essence of things, choosing the equilateral triangle—a pure and fundamental geometric form—as the guiding principle for the building’s composition.

Before entering the museum, visitors encounter a triangular plaza, an open space that serves as the building’s entrance. Looking upward, one can see a large overhanging canopy and outdoor terrace, a result of Ando’s clever division and offset stacking of three triangular volumes. This approach transforms a simple geometric form into a multi-layered, sculptural spatial experience.

The building’s V-shaped columns are not only visually striking but also function structurally, providing resistance to both horizontal seismic forces and vertical loads. These elements reinforce the museum’s triangular aesthetic while serving essential engineering purposes.

1F — Entrance Hall

Upon entering the museum, visitors pass through a triangular windbreak foyer, which leads to different functional areas. To the left are the museum shop and café, where the triangular motif continues in the flooring, ceiling, and lighting design. To the right lies the main lobby, where even the information counter takes on a triangular shape.

Directly ahead is the Tadao Ando Auditorium, a triangular hall that seats 106 people. Unlike Ando’s renowned use of bare concrete, the interior here is finished with warm wooden materials, creating a more intimate and human atmosphere.

Ando has often remarked that concrete is the material of the 20th century—a medium capable of expressing both purity and universality. In his hands, fair-faced concrete achieves a delicate, refined texture, reflecting the quiet Zen-like sensibility of traditional Japanese aesthetics—a sense of stillness, simplicity, and spiritual transcendence.

2F — Exhibition Corridor

From the open lobby, a staircase leads to the second-floor corridor, where visitors can enjoy views of the lush greenery outside through expansive glass curtain walls. This spatial relationship embodies the Japanese architectural philosophy of living in harmony with nature.

As one walks along the corridor and ascends the central staircase toward the third floor, the continuity of triangular geometry becomes evident throughout the exhibition halls.

One of the most awe-inspiring features is the triangular skylight above the central stairwell, through which natural light pours dramatically into the interior. This design recalls Ando’s pilgrimage to the Pantheon in Rome, Italy, where he was deeply moved by the oculus’ spiritual illumination. Since then, the “window to the heavens” has become a recurring motif in his work—an architectural gesture that connects humanity with the divine. Here, under the glow of that celestial light, architecture itself attains a sacred quality, resonating with the art it shelters.

2F–3F — The Spatial Composition

The most captivating aspect of the museum’s plan is the continuity of triangular geometry between interior and exterior spaces. Within the system of three large equilateral triangles, Ando inserts smaller triangles—some solid, some void—creating a nested spatial hierarchy of “mother and child” triangles.

At the heart of the structure is an open-air triangular courtyard that vertically connects the second and third floors. This void anchors the overlapping triangular volumes, generating a rich interplay of solidity and emptiness. The resulting spatial shifts and gaps form circulating corridors around the core.

Through the integration of these corridors and outdoor sculpture terraces, visitors are invited to wander through spiraling, interwoven triangular pathways, where art, architecture, and nature converge. It is within these dynamic spaces that meaningful encounters and dialogues between people and art come to life.

 

Milestones

Opening Ceremony

2013.10.24

The official opening ceremony of the Asia University Museum of Modern Art was attended by President Ying-jeou Ma, Taichung City Mayor Jason Hu, Ms. Chiung-wei Wu Lin (widow of the late university co-founder Mr.Tseng-Lien Lin), President Jing-Pha Tsai, Director Yu-tung Liu, and 750 distinguished guests from Taiwan and abroad. The event was held in the presence of Founder Chang-hai Tsai and Architect Tadao Ando, marking the grand unveiling of this landmark museum.

2013.10.23

On the eve of the opening, Asia University hosted a special lecture by Tadao Ando at the Grand Hotel Taipei, titled “The Opening of Asia University Museum of Art”, as part of the museum’s inaugural celebration.

Trial Operation

2013.09.28

The museum launched its trial operation with a special overnight event — “A Night at the Museum – Sleep with Art” — inviting guests to experience the unique atmosphere of staying within Ando’s architectural creation.

Completion

2013.09.04

To align with the museum’s short-, mid-, and long-term plans for collection and exhibitions, the museum was officially named “Asia University Museum of Modern Art”, abbreviated as “Asia Modern.”

Inspection

2013.07.31

Final inspection completed.

2013.06.09

All flooring on the 2nd and 3rd floors were demolished and redone.

2013.06.08

Asia University conferred its very first Honorary Doctorate upon Professor Charles H.S Kao, founder of the Commonwealth Publishing Group. The conferment ceremony was held in the lobby of the Ando construction site, which was 99.9% complete at the time.

2013.06.06

Kris Yao | Artech Architects hosted a “Construction Practice Workshop” in Taipei, sharing the experience of building the museum and extending the spirit of the on-site exhibitions from Taichung to Taipei. The event provided a more open presentation of the fair-faced concrete construction and supervision process of Ando’s architecture.

2013.05.27

Founder Tsai invited consultant Tsai-chin Ni to assist with curatorial planning for the museum opening. A new Deputy Director position was created, with former Secretary General of the Taiwan Art Gallery Association, Ting-yi Chu, appointed to the role. Wan-ping Ni, with extensive experience in art management, was invited to serve as Director of the Operations Office.

2013.05.17

Final inspection by Miura from the Ando office took place. Due to unsatisfactory concrete flooring, Founder Tsai insisted on maintaining the highest standards and decided to have it “demolished and redone.”

2013.03.29

Consultant Tsai-chin Ni arranged for Vice President Yu-Tung Liu to visit key art institutions and curators in Beijing, including renowned international curator Xian-ting Li, Professor Qing-sheng Zhu of Peking University, President of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Gong-kai Pan and Curator of CAFA Art Museum Huang-sheng Wang, and Director of National Art Museum of China Di-an Fan.

2013.01.15

The 100th on-site construction meeting was held.

Main Structure Completed

2012.11.23

Main structure completed. Mr. Tadao Ando personally inspected the site and remarked, “The construction quality is excellent—close to first-class.”

2012.11.20–21

Asia University hosted the 2012 International University Museums Symposium on Global Collaboration, gathering museum directors from Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, and the University of Tokyo, along with Asia University, to meet in Taiwan and visit the Ando Museum construction site.

2012.07.20

Vice President Yu-Tung Liu visited the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, where Director Paul Smith agreed to attend the International University Museums Symposium on Global Collaboration in Taiwan.

2012.07.18

Vice President Yu-Tung Liu visited the Fitzwilliam Museum of the University of Cambridge, where Director Representative James C.S. Lin agreed to attend the forum.

2012.06.14

Vice President Yu-Tung Liu visited the University Museum of the University of Tokyo, and Director Yoshiaki Nishino agreed to participate in the forum.

2012.05.30

President Jing-Pha Tsai visited the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, where Director Connie Wolf accepted the invitation to attend the forum in Taiwan.

2011.12.20–2012.01.20

Thirty consecutive days of daily construction meetings were held.

2011.11.26–2012.01.06

The Chang-Hai Tsai Education Foundation sponsored the 10th, 11th, and 12th “On-Site Exhibition” sessions.

2011.12.03

The foundation sponsored the 7th, 8th, and 9th “On-Site Exhibition” sessions.

2011.11.26

The foundation sponsored the 4th, 5th, and 6th “On-Site Exhibition” sessions.

2011.11.09

Vice President Yu-Tung Liu visited the Harvard Art Museums, where Director David Rodowick agreed to attend the 2012 University Museums Symposium on Global Collaboration in Taiwan.

2011.10.18

Founder Tsai invited Dr. Kuang-Nan Huang, one of Taiwan’s most prominent museum directors and former president of the National Taiwan University of Arts, to serve as Chief Advisor. Yao-Hua Su, former Director of the Taipei Artist Village, was invited to serve as Deputy Director.

2011.10.15

Sponsored by the Chang-Hai Tsai Education Foundation, Asia University organized, with Eslite Bookstore as co-organizer, the first and second “On-Site Exhibition” sessions.

2011.10.11

Mr. Iwama and Mr. Miura from the Ando office conducted an on-site inspection of the first-floor formwork removal. The quality met Ando’s standards, allowing construction to proceed.

2011.10.11

To meet the environmental standards of institutions such as the Picasso Foundation in Eu