The Hsinchu High-Speed Rail Station serves as a gateway for passengers arriving in the Hsinchu metropolis. The station’s roof is designed in response to Hsinchu’s infamous strong seasonal winds, and its curved roof looks like a billowing sail; from farther away, the slender, graceful roof appears like a diagonally folded sheet of paper. Sculpted with the motion of a dancer’s tension-filled limbs in mind, it clearly shows the architect’s earliest instant of inspiration.
The main structure has an arched roof which is formed by bending a parallelogram diagonally. Supported by six sets of colossal trusses, the roof is anchored at two ends to the custom-designed pillars on the ground, creating an soaring pneumatic form. The open-air tracks and platform solve the piston effect produced when trains pass through at high speed. The curved glass curtain walls and elongated stone walls form a symmetrical oval station concourse. Natural light is extensively used in the interior, and two curved walls at the north and south entrances, creatively presenting an artistic dialogue between “Future” and “Tradition”, bridging the gap between the old and the new.
