Taiwan Architecture Awards 2026: reading the 12-project shortlist
Explore cultural buildings, learning spaces, conservation and nature. This is a shortlist, not a beauty ranking, and private homes and campuses have access limits.
The 2026 Taiwan Architecture Awards shortlist brings together twelve projects, from Taichung Green Museumbrary, the National Archives and Keelung Art Museum to schools, historic buildings and forest structures. Their different scales show how architecture responds to reading, learning, conservation and landscape.
This is a shortlist, not ranked 1st to 12th based on aesthetics, and not all works have won the final award. If you want to use it as travel inspiration, you must also distinguish the usage nature of public venues, campuses and private residences, and avoid treating each work as a freely accessible tourist attraction.
Key facts
The finalists cover public culture, campuses, religions, private residences, historic sites and natural sites.
Taichung Green Museumbrary, National Archives, Paul Chiang Art Center and Keelung Art Museum provide different cultural space observations.
Campuses and private residences have usage and opening restrictions, so you should check official regulations before visiting.
Cultural Venues: How Architecture Changes Reading and Seeing
Taichung Green Museumbrary is a collaboration between SANAA and Ricky Liu & Associates, combining an art gallery and a library; the National Archives uses Linkou landscape and archive stacking imagery to process its facade; the Keelung Art Museum is based on existing cultural facilities and adjusted into a space that meets the needs of contemporary exhibitions.
Paul Chiang Art Center combines fair-faced concrete, weathering steel, mountain and sea landscapes with the artist's creative context. When comparing these works, you can pay attention to how the entrances, windows, walkways, and outdoor spaces move people around. You will be closer to the architecture that users actually feel than just looking at aerial photos.
National Tsing Hua University Wang Mo Ren Zhou Anyi Literature Museum · Photo: 田中央聯合建築師事務所The appearance of the Tanzi Farmers Association barn after restoration · Photo: 軸組聯合建築師事務所
Learning and daily life: low-key scale can also create strength
Dounan Elementary School’s nonprofit kindergarten, National Tsing Hua University’s 王默人周安儀文學館, 福智佛教學院宗德樓 and Feng Chia University’s 共善樓 address different learning communities. Although their materials and scales differ, each begins with the needs of its users.
The mission building of the Zhongshan Presbyterian Church and the rebirth of the Tianyuan Ancient House in Tainan use religion and family life to face the city, time and cultural memory. These spaces have their own users, and reading architectural information does not mean you are eligible to enter. Private homes are especially not suitable for visiting, photographing the interior, or making the precise location public.
National Archives and Urban Green Belt · Photo: 九典聯合建築師事務所Jiang Xianji Art Park and East Coast Landscape · Photo: 黃文榮建築師事務所／地方建築林友寒／江賢二
Preservation and nature: from old barns to forest structures
The restoration and reuse of the barns of the Tanzi Farmers Association allows the original roof trusses to maintain a recognizable relationship with the contemporary new structures; the natural architecture plan of the Baxianshan National Forest Recreation Area looks for ways to dialogue with the mountains and forests from the history of forestry and bamboo and other materials. Both are not just pursuing a new appearance, but making choices among existing conditions.
The twelve projects are: 中山基督長老教會宣教大樓; 斗南國小非營利幼兒園; 清華大學王默人周安儀文學館; 福智佛教學院宗德樓; 逢甲大學共善樓; 台南恬園古厝新生; 潭子農會穀倉修復暨再利用; 國家檔案館; 台中綠美圖; 八仙山自然構築計畫; 台東江賢二藝術園區; and 基隆美術館. Check each public venue’s opening, ticketing and photography rules before visiting. Private homes and campuses are not automatically open to visitors.
Keelung Art Museum appearance · Photo: 禾磊建築／吳明杰建築師事務所
Questions and answers
Are these the top 12 most beautiful buildings?
No. This is the shortlist for the Architecture Award. The works are not ranked in terms of aesthetics, and it does not mean that they will eventually win the award.
Can all 12 pieces be visited freely?
cannot. The list includes campuses, religious facilities and private residences, and the use and opening regulations of each space must be followed.
Besides taking pictures of the exterior, what else can you see when looking at a building?
You can compare how lighting, circulation, materials, new and old structures, and the surrounding environment respond to use needs.
