The Site
Tainan is an important bastion of Taiwan’s national sports, having nurtured icons like Orient Express Kuo Tai-Yuen who shined in Japan in the 90’s, as well as MLB stars like Chien-Ming Wang and Hung-Chi Kuo. The site is at Ho-Shuen Liao, and the vicinity of relic of San-Kam-Dien Sugar Factory, whose baseball team made fame since Japanese Colonial time, and was the home of legendary coach Fan Sue-Chuen.
The Site is located in a 50 hectares super block, with existing facilities including Taiwan History Museum, a regional detention pond named No Worry Lake with surrounding park, and two little league baseball stadiums.
Mission of the Project is to meet training and game uses for professional and national baseball teams. The complex is designated by TSTC （Taiwan Sports Training Center） as national baseball training base, and also is home court for Uni-Lion, a professional team.
Main Stadium
With 25,000 seating capacity, it is the largest outdoor baseball stadium in Taiwan, and designed for both athletic and spectating purposes.
Ground floor provides team and administrative uses, and becomes the base of the building, and is set one meter below playing filed to bring actions closer to the spectators above. It houses functions including offices, locker rooms, indoor training facilities while dugouts and bullpen are strategically located to provide best sense of presence with field actions. There are no obstructions in the field such as drainage cover or level difference, etc. Soil layering provides quick drainage as well as water retainage for grass.
Fans enter the lobby floor through the wide outdoor stairs. There are lower and upper deck bleachers, interfaced at 3rd floor concourse that provides shops, toilets, and VIP lounges. Fans never leave and lose sight of the actions and sense of direction.
Since 90% of baseball game activity is focused on pitching mound and home plate, Infield bleacher is a segmented horseshoe shape to provide comfortable viewing angle that varies according to distance from home plate. Outfield bleacher gets higher at center field to provide a embracing, cohesive atmosphere.
Main feature of the design is upper deck structure, with a section reminiscent of baseball glove. The canopy that cantilevers out 25 meters fully covers upper deck to provide shelter from heat and rain of Southern Taiwan. In plan, elevation, and section, the composite steel truss meets the principle of arch, which provides the most economic and effective load transfer; and by taking advantage of this “shape” factor, the design reduces 10% of steel tonnage.
This sweeping, imposing construct is supported by 12 stair structure, and floats above lower deck. The gaps between canopy, upper deck, and lower deck provide natural ventilation for the bleacher while the receding massing of base and lower deck is a distant echo of Fort Zeelandia of Dutch colonial days.
Secondary Stadium
With training as its main function, the bleacher arrangement is more of traditional layout that is placed on the second floor. Ground floor is dedicated for entry lobby, ticketing, and lockers and administrative spaces. There is a grass berm beyond outfield wall that could be used as casual viewing stand.
The fans enter lobby, after ticketing and check point, walk up to second floor bleacher through two suspended outdoor stairs. The stairs along with a floating canopy form the main feature of the facility.
Indoor Practice Field
With 51m by 51m column-free interior, it is the largest in Taiwan. It may be divided by nets to conduct pitching, batting, and infield defense practices. The vaulted space with deep eaves overhang, composite roof with high sound and thermal insulation, and natural ventilation, provides friendly background for training.
The Park
The Center is integrated with retaining pond with trails, and adds about 2000 trees to the park. From the bleacher the fans may see the Museum and the Park, as well as San-Kam-Dien historic site; this surrounding provides unique memory for fans.
