Photos: Sen-Yung Liu
At Martial Arts Hall, the design bridges historical preservation and modern innovation, offering a timeless experience.
Over the past century, comic books have become modern American myths, many of which include unforgettable origin stories: last son of a dying planet, a young boy motivated by the murder of his parents, a radioactive spider bite, brainwashed and trained as an assassin by the Soviet KGB. While expressing a far more eastern artistic influence, the genesis of the National Taiwan Museum of Comics is no less fantastical, as it rose from the grounds of a former prison.
Taichung Prison included both a prison and dormitory complex, which were built in 1915 during Japanese rule and remained in use through the 1950s. The area continued to serve as judicial facilities during both the Japanese colonial and Kuomintang government periods and includes numerous historic buildings, such as the Warden’s Residence, Bathhouse, Martial Arts Hall, and Official Residences. (The original radial cell blocks were demolished after the prison relocated in 1992, leaving the auxiliary buildings that are currently on site.) Repurposing the site was daunting, as the Warden’s Residence and Bathhouse are designated “Municipal Historic Monuments,” while the Martial Arts Hall and Official Residences are considered “Historic Buildings.”
In April 2023, the Taichung Prison complex was approved by the Taiwan Ministry of Culture for revitalization and repurposing, transforming it into a national museum that converted a once-closed space into an open public cultural venue. Moving beyond the concept of a single exhibition hall, the site encompasses 19 existing historical buildings within a landscaped park. In the future, a main building will be constructed on the northern side of the property, integrating comic collections, research, exhibitions, educational activities, a library, and animation cinema functions.
Just as comics are born through evolving imagination and creation, the museum aims to present artistic works of varying themes across generations within historical, new, and planned facilities. The vision is to showcase the vitality of Taiwanese comics through the intersection of past and current work while detailing themes of confinement and innovation.
“This lighting renovation project aims to breathe new life into historical architecture through nighttime lighting environment design,” explained Ching-Yu Lin, lighting design director at CosmoC Lighting Ltd. “The carefully designed lighting successfully revitalizes a long-closed area while also evoking public respect for, and connection to, historical culture. This project not only enhances the aesthetic value of the city’s nightscape but also transforms a previously isolated space into a culturally significant public place, achieving an integration of historical preservation and modern functionality.”
The museum required illumination for the large park area and the exteriors of the historical buildings. For the green landscapes, pathways, plazas, and parking areas surrounding the buildings, lighting equipment of various scales was deployed. Four custom 8-meter poles—each featuring eight LED floodlights (30 watts per floodlight, 3000K)—were installed in the parking lot. For green areas and tree illumination, 3.5-meter landscape poles with four to six LED floodlights (15 watts per floodlight, 3000K) were employed. Upward-facing tree floods were specified at 20 watts for LED and 30 watts for RGBW LED. To enhance glare control, the floodlights were equipped with honeycomb grids and anti-glare shields. All the project’s luminaires were supplied by Fomolux Enterprise Co., Ltd.
The courtyard of Martial Arts Hall was transformed into a welcoming venue for cultural and public engagement.
Custom-designed, Japanese-style lanterns were added to building entrances to enhance the historical nature of the site. These lanterns contained E27 LED lamps (7 watts, 3000K) and were designed as symbolic architectural elements rather than functional lighting for the entrance area.
Integrating landscape and architectural elements to create a coherent and layered nighttime transformation experience was a primary focus that proved challenging. Since the space contains diverse elements such as vertical building façades, facilities, and large trees, each with different viewing distances and details, it was essential to showcase the light and shadow relationships between these elements.
During the day, visitors are bathed in natural light, experiencing the unique atmosphere created by the interplay of historical architecture and natural environment. As time progresses, the changing light and shadow bring rich and varied expressions to the space. As night descends, the imaginative and free-spirited characteristics of the comics theme takes center stage.
Uplighting various elements in the environment creates distinct, layered visual effects after dark, adding depth and dimensionality to the spatial experience.
Taking advantage of the banyan trees and their prominent, exposed roots crawling across brickwork, RGBW uplights were installed for the two oldest trees in the park as well as those next to the Warden’s Residence. The luminaires were programmed to display color changes corresponding to the seasons during the 24 solar terms throughout the year, which allows visitors to sense changes in time, illumination, and environment as they flow between the past, present, and future on display.
“To create appropriate visual contrast and a harmonious light environment, our team conducted precise ‘light tuning’ work during the final completion phase,” Lin stated. “We carefully observed the light and shadow effects from each viewing angle along the main visitor routes, ensuring through detailed luminance adjustments that landscape lighting naturally guides visitors’ sightlines while complementing architectural lighting. For example, we reduced the illumination of certain landscape paths [5 to 10 lux] to highlight the light and shadow details of important building façades; meanwhile, we enhanced landscape lighting at key nodes to create visual focal points and guide visitors’ movement paths.”
The contours of buildings are also illuminated to highlight architectural features and offer a distinct evening experience. This approach is an homage to the “emphasized outlines” technique that is prominent in comics, and it was designed to create “storytelling illumination” that connects historical architecture with modern comics culture. Two beam spread angles were used to achieve the desired visual effect: 12-deg narrow-beam floods were used to accentuate the outlines of the rooftops, while 30-deg wide-beam floods reduce overall contrast and provide a softer illumination for the entire building façade.
Subtle lighting reveals layered roof tiles, blending with the surrounding trees and plants and highlighting the coexistence of architecture and nature.
Based on the requirements of Taiwan’s Cultural Heritage Preservation Act for historical buildings, exterior illumination was not that simple. For example, all fixtures mounted on buildings must adopt reversible installation methods and cannot result in any damage to the building’s surface materials. The installation of roof lighting systems was particularly challenging, so CosmoC Lighting employed custom metal clips to secure fixtures to the edges of roof tiles using a “clamping” method and properly arranged concealed power lines.
“Furthermore, to achieve optimal lighting effects, we needed to avoid unnecessary hot spots caused by fixtures being positioned too close to the illuminated surfaces,” Lin added. “Therefore, the direction of illumination and the optical angles of the fixtures became critical considerations. Additionally, the size and paint color of the fixtures required special attention to avoid visual interference during the daytime or disrupting the original appearance of the buildings with their presence.”
More than 90% of the fixtures employed are equipped with DMX controls, supplied by Signify Taiwan Limited, and integrated into a nearly site-wide system that manages all architectural and landscape lighting effects. Lin stated that this level of comprehensive intelligent lighting integration is “extremely rare in Taiwan’s public landscape spaces.” In the select areas where RGBW color lighting technology was utilized, the control system provided light intensity contrasts, making the overall environment more cohesive through the connection of light while avoiding a visually fragmented experience.
“We have also designed intelligent adjustment solutions for different nighttime periods, enabling some fixtures to automatically turn off or dim at specific times,” Lin explained. “We hope this sustainable design not only ensures the artistic and functional aspects of lighting but also reduces energy consumption, demonstrates environmental responsibility, and supports the long-term preservation and sustainable use of historical spaces.”
This project’s scope consisted of specifications for all indoor exhibition lighting fixtures and track positions as well. Since each individual building is relatively small with somewhat fragmented interior spaces, to achieve maximum flexibility, all indoor exhibition lighting fixtures are track-mounted and feature individual dimming capabilities and interchangeable optical projection angle heads.
To accommodate the diverse requirements of the exhibition space, two color temperature options were provided for the track-mounted floodlights: 3000K and 4000K. Each luminaire is equipped with 12-W LEDs and features manual dimming via an integrated dial. A variety of beam spread angles are available, including 10, 20, 25, 38, and 50 deg, to support flexible lighting layouts across different zones of the exhibition.
“Beyond the fixtures’ adaptability to various requirements, I believe one of the key factors in successful museum lighting is the relationship between track positions and the corresponding display objects’ locations—this aspect was carefully considered under each different condition, Lin said. “Additionally, since all buildings have numerous windows that affect the overall visual effect of exterior architectural lighting, we undertook considerable coordination work to achieve appropriate balance, such as helping adjust interior light intensity or projection directions, ensuring the park’s overall light environment maintains balance during nighttime.”
In brightest day or blackest night, the National Taiwan Museum of Comics has transformed from a shuttered prison facility into an open public space, creating value for visitors, Taichung, and Taiwanese culture. For visitors, the carefully designed lighting system provides a safe and comfortable nighttime environment while also establishing emotional connections to historical architectural features. For the Taiwanese government, as the owner, the museum promotes regional revitalization, enriches the city’s cultural content, and drives additional tourism to the area. The repurposing of the space is a fitting splash page for a story that continues to be written.
The lighting echoes the museum’s theme, introducing a playful yet elegant narrative to the space.
THE DESIGNERS | Ching-Yu Lin, CLD, IALD, is the lighting design director at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Kuo-Chan Huang is a senior lighting designer and project manager at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Chia-Jung Lu is a senior lighting designer and team leader, Design Planning Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Jr-Yuan Ho is a senior lighting designer and deputy team leader, Design Planning Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Jie-Yu Huang is a senior lighting designer and team leader, Detail Design Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Jun-Yan Wang is a junior lighting designer, Detail Design Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Yu-Ling Huang is a junior lighting designer, Detail Design Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Ruei-Han Chang is a senior lighting designer and team leader, Multimedia Design Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.
Hui-Ning Lee is a junior lighting designer, Multimedia Design Team at CosmoC Lighting Ltd.