Ground has broken on a wholesale market for fruit and vegetables in east Tainan, Taiwan, designed by dutch architect MVRDV and LLJ Architects.
The open-air Tainan Xinhua Fruit and Vegetable Market will contain a green farming roof which will be used to grow produce, such as pineapples, rice, roses and tea.
The roof will also include sheltered spots, benches and picnic tables that allow visitors to sit and enjoy views of the surrounding landscape.
A four-storey structure on top of the market will contain the market’s administrative offices, a restaurant, and an exhibition centre which will display agricultural products from the region.
The market will house what MVRDV says are "high undulating ceilings", which increases natural ventilation.
The market will be easily accessible from Highway 3 and public transport links.
Winy Maas, MVRDV co-founder, said: "Tainan, in my opinion, is one of those towns which is so beautiful to me because … of its nature, agriculture fields, farms, sea, and mountains.
"Tainan Market can become a building that symbolises this beauty as it compliments both landscape and its surrounding environment.
"It is completely functional and caters to the needs for auctioning, selling and buying goods, but its terraced roof with its collection of growing products will allow visitors to take in the landscape while escaping from bustle below."
Tainan Xinhua Fruit and Vegetable Market is due to be completed in 2020.
Images courtesy of MVRDV
