Taiwan – Architecture studio MVRDV has transformed an unused shopping centre into Tainan Spring, a sunken park and public pool.
Described as a ‘lush lagoon’, the project has r-worked the vacant Chinatown mall as part of plans to rejuvenate the area. Combining a lagoon for families to play and lounge in, as well as plants, playgrounds, gathering spaces and arcades, MVRDV has retained some of the existing architecture of the mall.
Built into the shopping centre’s former underground car park, the Tainan Spring aims to demonstrate how unused facilities can be transformed into more beneficial public spaces. Winy Maas, founding partner of MVRDV, says: ‘In Tainan Spring, people can bathe in the overgrown remains of a shopping mall. Inspired by the history of the city, both the original jungle and the water were important sources of inspiration.’
While cityscapes were initially built to facilitate a growth-centric system, as we shift towards a Post-growth Society new models are emerging and redfining consumption.