elevating the market square
MVRDV’s Market Cube in Taiwan reimagines the local market as a future-facing, multi-level civic hub. Located in Zhubei, one of Taiwan’s fastest-growing cities, the Market Cube is at once a food hall, a cultural venue, and a dynamic urban condenser. Designed in collaboration with co-architect EKUO, the project draws on historical and contemporary market typologies to offer an adaptable structure that blurs the lines between commerce, culture, and public life. As MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas puts it, ‘The Market Cube is like a condenser for different experiences.’
The project is set to be located alongside Taiwan’s Touqian River, where a major bridge connects Zhubei to the nearby Hsinchu Science Park, an area regarded as the nation’s own Silicon Valley. The site, envisioned by Zhubei City Office under Mayor Zheng Chaofang, aims to serve the city’s growing population of young professionals and families. The project’s civic ambition and prominent placement make it a landmark-in-the-making: part urban destination, part everyday amenity.
visualizations © Antonio Luca Coco, Angelo La Delfa, Luana La Martina, Priscilla Antinori, Ciprian Buzdugan
mvrdv draws from taiwanese street markets
Designing its Market Cube for Zhubei, Taiwan, MVRDV undertakes a typological study of marketplaces, ranging from impromptu roadside vendors to modern food courts. The architects identify a growing tension between efficiency and the kind of rich, communal atmosphere found in traditional Taiwanese street markets. The resulting design doesn’t just aim to revive the past — it offers a new architectural language for the market’s next evolutionary phase.
Programs are housed within a vertical stack of open-plan floors, enabling a mix of retail, leisure, and cultural activities. The layout includes markets, food courts, children’s play areas, exhibition halls, performance venues, and even a rooftop agricultural showcase. Two exterior escalators curve around the facade, providing direct access to terraces on each level. ‘You can create a huge number of combinations,’ says Maas. ‘The different combinations multiply the attractiveness of the building so that it will be busy at all times.’
MVRDV’s project for Taiwan reimagines the traditional market as a vertical civic hub
a luminous cube for zhubei
MVRDV plans its Market Cube with future adaptability in mind, as community needs continuously evolve in Zhubei, Taiwan. With floor-to-floor heights of five to eight meters (16.5 to 26 feet) and minimal structural obstructions, the interior can accommodate new uses over time. For the market levels, MVRDV developed a catalogue of stalls ranging from minimal kiosks to larger units with built-in seating, supporting both traditional vendors and contemporary food entrepreneurs. This flexibility helps future-proof the building against shifting urban needs and retail trends.
The architecture actively extends into its surroundings to dissolve the boundaries between interior and exterior space. A pedestrian bridge links the riverside park to the food court, while the ground-level markets spill into the adjacent street. To reinforce this continuity, the paving inside and outside the building is unified in texture and material. The architects aim to make the structure feel less like a standalone building and more like an extension of Zhubei’s public realm.
Layered systems of color-coded lighting, signage, and interactive media are integrated to guide visitors through its varied spaces. Each level is distinguished by a unique color palette, while LED screens and neon installations enhance legibility. The translucent panels surrounding the exterior escalators allow glimpses of people in motion, transforming circulation into a form of public theater. ‘Who knows what they might find on the next floor?‘ says Maas.
the building combines food halls, markets, and cultural venues into a single flexible structure
a series of open floors are connected by exterior escalators and wide terraces
each level supports different uses including childcare, exhibitions, and rooftop farming
