Matang Tribal Gathering Place

In the 17th century, Taiwan entered its colonial period, during which China, Spain, Portugal, and Japan successively colonized the island. Although this brought international languages and modern infrastructure, it also oppressed the survival and living space of the indigenous peoples, causing their cultures to gradually decline. Taitung County has the highest proportion of indigenous population in Taiwan, making the preservation, inheritance, and development of indigenous culture a key policy priority for the Taitung County Government.

Through the method of land readjustment, the county government integrated urban planning, designated parkland, and established a gathering hall. The aim was to preserve, inherit, and promote the culture of the Amis people—one of Taiwan’s indigenous groups—through the construction of new tribal gathering spaces.

To accommodate the traditional large-scale circle dances performed during the Amis Harvest Festival and annual ceremonial celebrations, the building adopts an umbrella-shaped exterior form and a regular nonagon (nine-sided) floor plan, allowing participants to hold hands and form a circle to celebrate the year’s harvest. The umbrella-like dome also provides excellent acoustics, enhancing the festive atmosphere during the Harvest Festival.

Out of respect for elders and deities, part of the roof corners are elevated to create a welcoming entrance oriented toward both the Sun God (the direction of sunrise) and the homes of tribal elders. This elevation produces a folded plate roof form, in which the various facets receive different levels of direct sunlight depending on their orientation. This results in surface temperature differences that help drive buoyancy ventilation beneath the roof, improving spatial comfort.

To support the folded plate roof, a special structural system of three trusses is employed. This not only effectively balances wind and seismic forces, but also symbolizes the Amis origin myth in which the tribe was founded jointly by three age groups.

The building’s color scheme incorporates red, black, and white—the colors frequently found in traditional Amis attire—allowing viewers to instinctively associate the structure with the Amis people, thereby reinforcing the cultural identity of the gathering hall.

Around the building, traditional Amis totem motifs are extensively used, symbolizing the sun, ocean waves, motherly love, ancestral spirits, and the Madang tribe. These elements not only declare the gathering hall as belonging to the Amis but also reflect the tribe’s values of reverence for the divine, the natural environment, and ancestral spirits