Theater | Cheng Tsung FENG Design Studio

Theater , Artist Cheng Tsung FENG’s creative practice is deeply tied to the preservation and reinterpretation of fading traditional crafts and cultural memories. For this monumental outdoor installation, his focus turned to the bamboo opera stage—a once-prevalent architectural form in Taiwan’s temple festivals and communal celebrations, but now rarely seen as times have changed. At the historic Wenwu Temple in Lukang, Changhua, which itself has stood for over two centuries, FENG constructed a vast stage using thousands of bamboo poles, reviving the grandeur of this vanishing tradition in contemporary form.

Titled Theatre, the work is composed of meticulously interlaced bamboo arranged both vertically and horizontally, creating a structure that is simultaneously rigorous and transparent. The intersecting lengths of bamboo establish a strong sense of rhythm and order, while slender split bamboo strips soften the edges, outlining elegant arcs across the façade and floor plan of the stage. Visitors ascend bamboo stairways that lead onto the broad, flat platform, where they find themselves fully enveloped by the geometric grid of bamboo. Here, through the sensations of touch, sight, and movement, the audience is invited to rediscover the spatial qualities of traditional bamboo architecture and the natural tactility of the material itself.

By day, the stage becomes a welcoming space for rest, gathering, and playful exploration. By night, illuminated by bright festival lights, the installation transforms into a ceremonial hall filled with a sense of grandeur, recalling the dazzling atmosphere of opera performances in bygone times. It is both a place to watch a play and a stage for anyone to perform their own.

Standing prominently on the expansive lawn before Lukang Wenwu Temple, the structure draws in countless passersby during the festival period, inviting them to enter the bamboo theatre. Within it, life and performance blur: participants continually move between stage and audience, sometimes watching, sometimes acting, embodying the cyclical nature of theater as a mirror of life itself. In this interplay, FENG’s work not only reconstructs a fading cultural memory but also offers a living, communal space where tradition is reimagined and relived.

Project Info
Architects: Cheng Tsung FENG Design Studio
Country: Taiwan, Changhua
Area: 117 m²
Year: 2025
Photographs: Fixer Photographic Studio
Design Team: Hong Lin Liu
Structural Engineer: Jianquan Engineering Consulting Co.
Lighting: Oude Light
Construction: Chuan-sheng Bamboo Construction