Zhubei, in the north of Taiwan, is one of the island’s fastest-growing cities. Driven largely by its proximity to the Silicon Valley-like Hsinchu Science Park the city attracts masses of young professionals, mostly young families. Spearheaded by the city’s mayor Zheng Chaofang, Zhubei City Office imagined a market building that could provide both an amenity and a popular destination for the city’s increasingly affluent population. The project was planned for a prominent location alongside the Touqian river, at the point where a major bridge connects Zhubei to Hsinchu, making it a significant landmark in the city.

The Market Cube – also known locally as River Bank 1 – takes a new approach within this trend, providing a platform for a traditional market and combining it with gastronomy as well as social and leisure functions by creating frictionless, highly visible routes between the different levels – an ideal mixture of convenience and experience. A stack of open-plan floors hosts markets, food courts, day-care and children’s playgrounds, exhibition and performance spaces, and a rooftop with an agricultural showcase and pavilions for activities. The building’s wide exterior terraces are accessed by two sets of escalators that snake their way up the building’s exterior, allowing each level to be opened or closed independently. This allows the different functions to synergise during the day without tying them all to the same opening schedule, allowing the building to stay busy long into the night.