These elements are echoed in the pavilion design, with its four chamfered corners echoing the city’s corner cafés and restaurants, while each side of the pavilion is highlighted by a roofline inspired by notable wooden buildings such as a museum and police station. Three of these sides form gateways towards the courtyard, with the pastel colours of their interiors – a detail that also references the colours of the original buildings they represent – welcoming visitors into this urban living room.

The remaining three sections are dedicated to Chiayi’s potential as Taiwan’s “Wood Capital”. The exhibition draws parallels to regions all around the world, from Norway to New Zealand, showing how other places developed their wood traditions, and how they have adapted to modern conditions to maintain this culture up until today. In the main hall – a two-storey space that takes up the northern side of the pavilion – the exhibition presents Chiayi’s timber future, inviting visitors to imagine what life could be like with a reinvigorated wood culture, and to make suggestions for the city’s future development.

With its courtyard space – where a light show is projected onto the pavilion’s façade every evening – and spacious main hall, the Wooden Wonders pavilion served as a key gathering space during the two weeks city’s anniversary celebrations.