Thirteen years after its design won a global competition, the Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal finally opened last week…
The unconventional terminal building. Photo: Zhen-Kang.
Today’s open day coincided with a visit from the 824-passenger Nautica—a good test of the building’s separation of controlled and public spaces. (It seemed to pass.)
The terminal was designed by Reiser + Umemoto in collaboration with Arup (Hong Kong), Fei and Cheng and Associates (Taipei), PC (New York), and Ysrael A Seinuk (NY). They describe it as:
A dynamic, three-dimensional urban strategy for Kaohsiung’s waterfront edge, taking the form of an iconic cruise terminal, elevated public boardwalk, and office tower.
This is accurate. It’s one of those buildings that looks as good in person as it did during the concept stage.
I took my camera, but it was extremely crowded—moreso than it looks in these wide-angle photos—so I left it in my bag. My phone repeatedly overheated and shut down in the hot weather, so I’m hoping for a chance to return and take more considered shots.
In the meantime, here are some phone pics of this new addition to my neighborhood, a 10-minute walk from my apartment:
I started by queueing with the other 2.77 million residents of Kaohsiung. The terminal was only open to the public for four hours on a Thursday afternoon, but that didn’t seem to lower turnout. Note the scrolling signs on the back wall. Amongst other things, they said “Gateway to Warmth with Celebration of Aspiration.” By the time I got to the sunny outdoor viewing deck, I too celebrated having space to breathe.This window gave a glimpse of round patches of grass on the sides of the building, and the Nautica docked alongside.The lifts were reserved for those with limited mobility, so most people were ushered up the fire escape.The stairs led to this landing on the third floor. I stopped to have a look at the small exhibition.There were photos of the building during construction……And this recent photo showing its near-finished state. I swear I’ve seen an air purifier that looks identical to the tower section. Incidentally, my apartment building is clearly visible in this shot. (I’ll give you 10 guesses…)I liked this detailed model of the building. The tower section is 14 stories tall, in addition to three basement levels. In the foreground you can see Cruise Terminal Station (in white)—one of three tram stations near my apartment. The model accurately depicts tram tracks embedded in the grass, however, in real-life fallen trees aren’t blocking the line. (Then again, I’m yet to experience typhoon season…)Stepping outside, this sheltered area led to the viewing deck.Here’s a sunnier take on the same space.Looking up, I enjoyed this more abstract view.Too my left I could see palm trees below the deck.Other parts of the building featured less conventional gardens……And dramatic cantilevered sections. Note people sheltering from the sun, at left. (It was at about this point that my phone started overheating, too.)The building is interesting and dramatic up close.This is the widest part of the viewing deck. In the distance you can see Monkey Mountain, which I climbed four days ago. To the right is the Kaohsiung Music Center.Here’s the Nautica docked alongside the terminal. Passengers enter via airbridges connected to the lower levels.This is the office tower.If you look closely, you can see a tiny open window about half-way up, towards the right-hand side.The south-east end affords a great view of 85 Sky Tower. Another ridiculous and exciting building.We were called inside to allow the next group onto the deck. On the way out, I was amused by this door labeled “EXIT” and “NOT AN EXIT”.I saw the queue had become much longer. It might’ve been a few hundred meters long at this point.Looking back, it had been an excellent visit to an excellent building. Note the crowds of people waiting for the tram; I was pleased to walk home from here.
