Tainan City, Taiwan
Architect Mao Shen-Chiang led the planning of this reception center located in the Tainan High-Speed Rail redevelopment zone, commissioned by the Cing Jing Lin Group. The design relies on pure geometric elements, defining three distinct types of modular prototypes tailored to specific functional needs. These modules were stacked, interspersed, and rotated to achieve proportionate spatial harmony.
Geometry won an 2025 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Named “Geometry – Born from Purity,” the project’s core concept is “MOSAIC.” Mao’s initial vision involved manipulating geometric volumes through aggregation. This massing was later refined and simplified to meet programmatic requirements while adhering to three key principles: maintaining pure geometry in form, ensuring stability and rationality in construction interfaces, and fostering intuitive user comfort.
The architect selected steel structures and curtain wall systems to enable quick assembly and disassembly, essential for a reception center that may be used temporarily. This choice influenced the design and volume planning and contributed to the building’s lighter and more graceful spatial quality. The exterior color scheme was inspired by the natural characteristics of the main project.
Spatially, the center allocates open areas, sample rooms, and ancillary spaces based on the structural framework. The roof system is designed to provide sun shading and rainwater drainage, while indoor ventilation and air exchange are evaluated to optimize environmental performance during use. These elements collectively enhance construction efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
In Taiwan, reception centers are often temporary and dismantled once construction progresses, necessitating flexible, easily disassembled structures. The architect employed precast construction methods to reduce on-site timeline and minimize industrial waste during deconstruction, aligning with sustainable construction goals.
Mao Shen-Chiang’s design philosophy views triangles, quadrilaterals, and circles as the fundamental geometric prototypes—the origin of design and the essence of painting. By building from these pure geometric elements, the project highlights simplicity, abstract form, and geometric purity, aiming to express profound ideas through simplified spatial composition. The design explores these shapes to redefine architectural space, emphasizing purity in form, color, and spatial experience.
The overall approach resonates with Suprematism—a movement emphasizing abstract, geometric forms for spiritual and harmonious effect—evoking the static, abstract aesthetics of Malevich. This project captures a balance between form and space, narrating a distinctive architectural story.
A significant design and construction challenge was achieving precise interfaces between materials on a site with uneven terrain. Despite the accurate fabrication of steel trusses and components in the factory, site conditions risked misalignment. This required maintaining elasticity in construction joints, allowing the onsite team to fine-tune connections during assembly to ensure stability without compromising the design’s integrity.
Overall, the reception center embodies purity in architectural form through a rational, modular system that is adaptable, sustainable, and visually elegant. It breaks traditional boundaries by abstracting geometric volumes into a unique spatial experience, exemplifying innovation in design, construction, and environmental responsiveness.
Architects: Mao, Shen-Chiang Architecture Studio
Lead Architect: Shen-Chiang Mao
General Contractor: Shih Ao Fair-faced Concrete
Client: CJL Group
Photographers: Lee, Kuo-Min
