King Boat Musée culturel by Pingtung County Government and C.M.Chao

King Boat Musée culturel by Pingtung County Government and C.M.Chao is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award d'Or in Design d'Architecture, Bâtiment et Structure Competition Category.

OrArchitecture· 2026

King Boat Musée culturel

by Pingtung County Government and C.M.Chao

Client: C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners

A' Design Award d'Or Winner in Architecture Category

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The Design

About King Boat Musée culturel

King Boat est un musée culturel consacré à la cérémonie du Bateau Royal (King Boat Ceremony), situé à Donggang, à Taïwan. Le bâtiment de cinq étages présente une façade blanche posée sur un soubassement ondulant qui évoque la mer. La façade est revêtue de béton renforcé de fibres de verre, choisi pour sa texture ainsi que pour sa résistance au sel et à l'humidité. Des lignes pliées et des entrées en retrait mènent à un atrium central habillé de mailles d'aluminium déployé, qui filtrent la lumière et le son. Une réplique grandeur nature du Bateau Royal est exposée sous la lumière naturelle, tandis qu'une terrasse en toiture offre des vues sur le port.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award d'Or

King Boat Musée culturel est lauréat de l'A' Design Award d'Or, une reconnaissance immensément prestigieuse décernée à des designs de premier ordre, merveilleux et remarquables. Les lauréats Or sont des créations extrêmement innovantes, visionnaires et d'un éclat glamour éblouissant, qui reflètent le génie, la sagesse et la maîtrise de leurs concepteurs. King Boat Musée culturel est censé être une invention très louée, avant-gardiste et monumentale, qui apporte une valeur sans précédent. Ce design lauréat de l'A' Design Award d'Or est un projet spectaculaire et respecté qui sert grandement l'art, la science, le design et la technologie et en repousse les limites. King Boat Musée culturel crée de vifs sentiments de désir, éveille la passion, encourage la créativité et nous fascine.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The building's form is inspired by a traditional king boat, with a five-story white facade atop a wave-like base symbolizing the sea. Folded lines and recessed entries mimic ocean swells, leading to a central atrium with aluminum mesh panels that ripple like waves. Inside, a 1:1 King Boat replica is displayed, bathed in natural light. The rooftop observatory offers views of Donggang Harbor. The museum's five exhibitions invite visitors to explore marine beliefs, parades, and boatbuilding rituals, celebrating Taiwanese folk religion.
Dimensions & Packaging: The five-story structure includes four levels of exhibition space arranged to follow the ceremonial procession of the King Boat Ceremony, with five permanent thematic galleries: Marine Beliefs, Divine Patrol, Regional Ceremonies, Sacred Boat Building, and The Donggang Festival. The third floor houses the museum's centerpiece 42-foot-long, 12-foot-wide King Boat replica, viewable from a 360-degree elevated viewing platform. The roof features a skylight and observation deck, reinforcing the building's vertical movement and layered storytelling.
Tags: King Boat Culture, Donggang, Cultural Museum, Local Revitalization, King Boat Ceremony, Taiwanese Folk Ritual
Production Technology: The facade is clad in glass fiber reinforced concrete, chosen for its textured finish, durability, and resistance to salinity and humidity, ideal for a coastal climate. Its surface reflects sunlight like shimmering waves, resonating with the harbor context. The atrium is enveloped by expanded aluminum mesh, offering both acoustic and light-filtering functions. A predominantly white color palette, paired with natural materials and glass windows, allows natural light to interact with surfaces, emphasizing the building's temporal and spiritual dimensions.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was translating a deeply religious, ritual-based, and localized practice into an architectural language that modern audiences could understand and feel. The architect engaged in continuous dialogue with local elders and cultural scholars, extracting symbolic elements, such as the dragon's eye, wave lines, and procession routes, and converting them into spatial form and lighting gestures. The building had to be more than a container for culture; it had to be a bridge for cultural exchange, making that transformation the core design mission.
Research: The Pingtung King Boat Museum, Taiwan's first dedicated to the King Boat Ceremony, reinterprets maritime beliefs as a 'living museum.' Its exterior mimics a king's boat riding waves, with flowing walls and dragon-eye openings that tell spiritual stories day and night. The centerpiece is a 1:1 King Boat replica suspended in the atrium, bathed in natural light. The design blends light, materials, and acoustics with sustainable features like natural ventilation. It’s a cultural, educational, and tourism hub, honoring tradition while inspiring future heritage.
Inspiration: The design begins with the traditional maritime faiths of Asia. Located in Donggang, the Pingtung King Boat Museum is Taiwan's first cultural center for the King Boat Ceremony. Inspired by the triennial ritual, the architecture transforms spiritual and oceanic imagery into a vessel of history and faith, linking local identity with future vision. Embracing the idea that 'life is culture, and culture is life,' the museum serves as a living space that bridges religion and daily life, sparking cultural renewal and community vitality.
Project Duration: The project finished in December 2024 in Taiwan.
Operation Flow: By transforming traditional culture into a modern space, the museum becomes a hub for education, community, and tourism. It welcomed over 200,000 visitors in its first month, becoming a Donggang landmark. Beyond exhibits, it preserves oral history, teaches traditional crafts, and trains festival guides, making culture tangible and engaging. More than design, it's a cultural movement, sparking heritage continuity and innovation rooted in place and tradition.
Team Members: Pingtung County Government, C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners
Image Credits: C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners