The National Museum of Prehistory (NMP) has won a special award for its renovation project under the Best Planning and Design category at the 2023 FIABCI-Taiwan Real Estate Excellence Awards, which is one of the highest honors for Taiwan's architectural projects. The award ceremony was held on July 27, and the award judges commended the work as an outstanding and innovative masterpiece.
NMP director Wang Chang-hua (王長華) thanked the award judges for their recognition, noting that those who visited the museum after its reopening were positively impressed by the new look. The venue's cavernous and bright space, good interior circulation, diverse displays, and child-friendly environment will attract visitors to return.
Officially opened in 2002, the National Museum of Prehistory was designed by American architect Michael Graves and Taiwanese architect Haigo Shen (沈祖海) in 1993. The museum temporarily closed in 2020 for its renovation project and reopened on May 19, 2023. Leading his team, architect Chen Ja-sheng (陳哲生) was in charge of reinventing the building. The renovation team retained the appearance and façade of the original building designed thirty years ago. Chen took "openness" and "flow" as the main design concept to meet the museum's requirements for future exhibitions and operations, space improvement, and efficient public services, reinterpreting the previous designers' architectural language for the prehistory museum.
Chen said that the renovation work took nearly four years and ten months, adding that he had spent almost one year thoroughly exploring the museum’s purposes and functions since 2018. He also conducted research into different versions of the design plan to create a new circulation system that connects and integrates the fragmented spaces in the museum's original building. It's pleasing to see the renovated museum in Taitung become more welcoming, said the architect, adding that he is grateful for participating in this challenging but meaningful task.
Sources：MInistry of Culture
