The design proposal for the Keelung New Harbor Service Building aims to reject grand architectural gestures that deliberately exist out of context for the sole intent of making a grandiose statement. ACDF Architecture rejects the use of elaborate sculptural forms that are fashionable, or are required to compensate for poorly planned design that does not respond to the local environment. They favor an architecture that portrays a creative, site specific design that is “grounded” in the local context. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Critics and practitioners of architecture often convey a contradictory message in a quest to comprehend the essence of iconic architecture. The notions of many recent international projects strive to be iconic, but few actually become truly successful from the point of view of the ultimate critics, the people who use them. We propose the need to solidly reestablish the qualities of what defines iconic architecture. The first step of our process began with the interrogation into the nature of iconic architecture and its role today. We asked ourselves, what is needed to create an architectural icon for a city, a task that is both complex and delicate.
