Taichung City, Taiwan　2025

From Taichung’s rivers and wetlands to the sea—this new aquarium offers an immersive experience of the water cycle. MMD led the project from its initial concept through to design and supervision, reimagining the region’s natural environment as a premier tourism asset. Designed as a model for the next-generation museum, the project demonstrates the synergy between environmental education, tourism, and community development.

Project Overview

Location: Taichung, Taiwan
Use: Tourist Aquarium/Multi-purpose Exhibition Facility including Recreated Wetland Habitats.
Concept: An environmental and tourism facility to experience the journey of water from the river to the sea and the ecosystem cycle.
Highlights: Dynamic tidal recreation in wetland habitats, a world-class display of rare corals, and advanced water cycle system design.

Background & Objectives

While Taichung is blessed with a rich natural environment of rivers and wetlands, these assets often remain underappreciated—woven into the everyday landscape without their true value being fully recognized or visualized. Our goal for Taichung Aquarium was to move beyond merely viewing nature by re-editing the local landscape into an experience that highlights the essential connectivity between the river, wetland, and sea. By moving beyond the traditional concept of viewing fish through glass and creating a space where visitors immerse themselves in the great water cycle, we intend to foster a deeper environmental awareness and a lasting connection to the local region. The aquarium is set to become a transformative landmark, enhancing Taichung’s city brand through a unique synergy of environmental education, tourism promotion, and urban branding.

Concept

At Taichung Aquarium, the journey of water serves as the central narrative, weaving architecture, light, and sound into a cohesive and immersive spatial experience. The journey follows the flow from freshwater rivers and wetlands to the coastal and deep seas, and into the world of jellyfish. We envisioned the path as a narrative journey, retracing the vital flow of water and the life it sustains. We aim to shift the perspective from merely viewing to coexisting and sharing the same environment, redefining the relationship between humans and marine life. Strategic use of eye levels, tank placement, and lighting enable visitors to immerse themselves into the same scale as the marine life. Strategic use of eye levels, tank placement, and lighting enable visitors to immerse themselves into the same scale as the marine life. By weaving together Taichung’s local context, a global network of research institutions, and MMD’s expertise in experiential design, we established a central concept: a museum that connects local nature to the world’s oceans.
The Journey of Water — From River to Deep Sea: Starting from local nature, the experience retraces the vital connections to the ocean and the great cycle of life.
Redefining the Relationship between Humans and Fish: An immersive experience where visitors experience from the fish’s perspective.
Understanding and Experience the Water Cycle and Ecosystems: From tidal rhythms to vibrant coral reefs, immerse yourself in the pulse of the ocean to feel the profound cycle and diversity of nature.
Fusing Education, Tourism, and Community Value: Integrating research, exhibitions, and tourism into a unified experience that revitalizes regional resources.

Design/Concept Highlights

Spatial Integration through SCAPE Design: A seamless flow of architecture, exhibition, water, light, and human movement to create a fully immersive experience.
Gateway Tunnel as a Spatial Introduction: An immersive prelude inviting visitors on a journey into the underwater world.
Ecosystem Storytelling through the Water Cycle: River → Wetland → Ocean → Deep Sea / Jellyfish → Reef → Beluga Whales, narrating the expansion of the ecosystem.
The Rhythms of the Wetland: An interactive exhibit recreating the natural ebb and flow of the tides. This indoor experience allows visitors to feel the pulse of nature, with a focus on environmental education and hands-on discovery.
Rare Coral Collective Exhibition: Showcasing and preserving global biodiversity through world-class collaboration.
Digital-Natural Fusion: Blending immersive projection with live exhibits to balance emotional impact and educational depth.
The Labscape Experience: An open-view research and care facility designed to bridge the gap between exhibit and education through institutional transparency.

Social Value and Ripple Effects

Transforming Local Natural Assets: Strategically reimagining Taichung’s rivers and wetlands as premier sustainable tourism resources.
A Hub for Environmental Literacy: Empowering visitors—especially children and families—to understand the water cycle, ecosystems, and the vital importance of biodiversity.
Driving Tourism & Local Revitalization: An iconic landmark positioned to draw global interest, revitalizing the region through increased visitor engagement and international visibility.
Cross-Border Knowledge Exchange: Building a global network that facilitates coral research partnerships and the sharing of aquarium operational know-how on an international scale.
Sustainable Operational Model: A next-generation model integrating immersive education, scientific research, and regional tourism.

MMD’s Role & Expertise: MMD provided end-to-end expertise for this project, leading every stage from initial planning and schematic design to exhibition development and total design supervision. The technical mastery in water circulation, synthetic seawater, and recycling systems cultivated by our CEO, Kato, during his tenure at Taisei Corporation, is fundamentally integrated into the waterscapes and exhibition design of the Taichung Aquarium. Our deep understanding of both aquatic engineering and exhibition design ensures a high degree of project feasibility, perfectly balancing captivating visual storytelling with sustainable, long-term maintenance. Furthermore, MMD’s ability to interpret regional natural assets and translate them into unique local experiences, combined with our strategic oversight in managing long-term international collaborations, were key strengths that drove this project to success.

Integrated end-to-end expertise, from initial planning and design to exhibition and final oversight.
Driven by advanced knowledge and technical mastery of water circulation and specialized aquarium systems including LSS.
Re-designing Regional Value: Transforming natural environments into world-class tourism destinations.
International Coordination & Execution: Proven expertise in cross-border negotiations, facility maintenance, and the realization of world-class exhibitions.

Messages

The Taichung Aquarium project was an endeavor to reimagine nature—creating a space that brings entirely new value to the region. Through our integrated expertise—spanning from initial planning to final design and supervision—MMD delivers more than just an aquarium; we create next-generation museums that encompass education, tourism, and regional revitalization. If you’re looking to bring out the best in your region’s natural landscape and local character, we’d love to hear from you and discuss how we can help.

Name: Taichung Aquarium
Client: NAN REN LAKE LEISURE AMUSEMENT CO., LTD.
Planning: MMD Inc.
Design: MMD Inc., UDS Ltd.
Exhibition Design: MMD Inc., UDS Ltd.
Supervision: MMD Inc.
LSS Consulting: MMD Inc.