Lanyang Museum
Kris Yao / ARTECH · Yilan, Taiwan · 2010
Kris Yao’s Lanyang Museum rises from the wetlands near Wushi Harbor as a sharply tilted stone-and-glass volume inspired by the layered geological formations of Taiwan’s northeast coast. The building appears partly embedded in the landscape, with sloping walls and roofs creating a strong relationship to water and distant mountains. Exhibition spaces explain the natural and cultural history of Yilan County while the architecture itself acts as a large-scale interpretation of regional topography. Opened in 2010, it is one of Taiwan’s most distinctive contemporary museums outside the major metropolitan centers.