This time the most-wanted architecture photographer Iwan Baan travels to Taipeh where he and his wife wander around in Toyo Ito's building.

As we walk around what Ito-san describes as a “white-cave”, both Iwan and I can’t help but feel this sort of sensual, human-element in the architecture. There are no straight lines, and no distinction between floor, wall and ceiling.

Toyo Ito has said that similarly to how the human body contains many tube-like organs, the interior of his recently completed National Taichung Theatre is penetrated horizontally and vertically by tubular spaces, and that inside and outside are continuous, just like how our bodies are connected to nature through organs like our mouth, nose and ears. 

Ten years ago, a supportive central government and city mayor initiated the theatre project. The government at the time nurtured Ito’s radical approach to design and construction and encouraged a sort of collaborative and innovative environment. Architecturally complex and highly challenging from an engineering perspective, the theatre was built without beams or columns, relying instead on 58 curved wall units and a whole lot of support from the local municipality.

It was their collective vision that the theatre would serve as a future landmark not just in Taiwan, but also in the world. Perhaps it would fall in footsteps of the Sydney Opera House, which, despite its increased need for funding and extended construction time has come to be a great national and global landmark.