11.3.2019
MVRDV Breaks Ground on Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market with an Accessible Terraced Green Rooflandscape
MVRDV has broken ground on a new wholesale market for fruit and vegetables in Tainan. With its terraced accessible green roof, the open-air market will not only be an important hub for Tainan’s food supply chain, but also a destination for meeting, socialising, and taking in views of the surrounding landscape from the building’s accessible green farming roof.
The design comprises a simple open structure with high undulating ceilings that allow for plenty of natural ventilation, with an undulating terraced green roof that is accessible from its eastern corner, where the terraces step down to ground level. The terraces will house the different products of the area. The building therefore provides an elevated platform from which visitors can appreciate the landscape that characterises this part of Taiwan. At the same time, it takes on the appearance of rolling green hills, thus becoming a continuation of that landscape. On one side, a simple four-storey structure contains the market’s administrative offices, a restaurant, and an exhibition centre where agricultural products from the region can be displayed, making the building ideal for school visits. This four-storey addition punctures the main structure, providing a secondary access to the landscaped roof.
The terraces of the roof will each grow a different crop – with terraces for pineapples, rice, roses, tea, and more – with the level of each type of plant determined by the plant’s climatic requirements. The roof includes sheltered spots , benches and picnic tables that allow visitors to sit and enjoy the view.
Tainan Xinhua Fruit and Vegetable Market continues MVRDV’s recent projects in Taiwan. These include the Tainan Axis, which revitalises central Tainan with improvements to two key streets and a new public square with a lush green lagoon, and the Taipei Twin Towers, a recently won competition for two skyscrapers which will become a focal point in the centre of the country’s capital.