A team comprising China’s C.Y. Lee & Partners and UK-headquartered Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has won a design competition for the 47-floor National Innovation, Creativity and Finance Center (NICFC) in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital.
Located at the intersection of Zhongxiao West Road and Bo’ai Road in the city’s financial district, the development will contain four institutions of the Financial Supervisory Commission, including the stock exchange, futures exchange, depository and clearing corporation.
The structure’s fluted design is inspired by the unfurling flower of the island’s native Phalaenopsis Orchid, which supports petals and sepals as it extends upwards and outwards.
A five-storey podium contains event space and is linked to the district’s existing civic hubs by interconnected pedestrian plazas, courtyards and walkways.
The 175,000-sq-m development aims to achieve 70% floor area usage, with internal areas dedicated to the four financial institutions, shared flexible offices, meeting spaces and a conference centre. Three lift systems will connect separate areas of the tower.
Concave bays within the tower’s northern façade offer views of Taipei and the Qixing and Guanyin mountains beyond. From the east, you can see Taipei 101 and the Xinyi District.
The podium mirrors the scale of the adjacent and recently restored 1930 Taipei Beimen Post Office, which will be transformed into a museum and cultural venue, with a community hub within its restored portico. Parcel, mail and administrative services will be moved to a modern facility.
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