LSA 220-Intro to Landscape Architecture Jenna Ergort

The Visible and The Hidden- Kris Yao 10/21/14

Kris Yao, a Taiwanese architect, is also the founder of KRIS YAO | ARTECH. A lot of his
work revolves around the words Tang and Ao, which he stated are compliments of each
other in architecture. Formal, direct, visible, and tangible are what describe tang while
hidden, unseen and intangible are what describes ao. You can recognize this in some of his
accomplishments, such as, the Langyang Museum in Taiwan, the Wuzhen Theatre in Wuzhen,
and also the Water-Moon Monastery in Taipei, Taiwan.
Cuesta rock, which lays on the coast of Taiwan, is what inspired Yao to create the
Langyang Museum the way he did. It is located near the Black Stone Harbor at the base of the
mountains, which depending on how you look at it, makes it seem as though the building is a
part of the mountains. The Wuzhen Theatre, located in the village of Wuzhen, was created
while the rest of the town was being restored and renovated. Yao developed 7 venues and the
main Wuzhen Theatre was inspired by a twin lotus. They used old wood from the village to
create patterns that covered the outside glass so that when the sun shines through, the
shadows create designs that appear on the floors and walls of the inside. The Water-Moon
Monastery, located in Taipei, had a similar sun and pattern effect, except in this building, Yao
chose 2 Zen Chinese sutras which were casted on the outside walls and the characters
appeared on the inside walls and floors. It took 6 years to finish and it is known to be a very
quiet and tranquil environment.
I enjoyed Kris Yaos lecture very much. Having a chance to hear from an architect
himself who created and designed these buildings was so inspiring. Also, getting to learn about
his culture and where he comes from gave me a new perspective on how many possibilities are
actually out there.










Tuesday Oct. 21
st
, Kris Yao Lecture. 5pm. Slocum Hall.