A 500 metre, man-made mountain range designed by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has been chosen to serve as the ferry passenger terminal for the Taiwanese island of Kinmen.

Titled ‘Landscape as a Monument’, the chosen design features a multifunctional service centre that alternates between three and four storeys in height.

Drawing on the island’s traditional colonial architecture, the building is equipped with deep eaves to create areas of shade and cross ventilation within the interior space.

The tiered structure is topped by an undulating green roof and covered in a diverse variety of plants and grasses that can tolerate saline soils and salt spray.

The accessible roof allows people who visit the ferry port to stroll around the mountain-like parkland. 

Located close to China’s Fujian coast and the city of Xiamen, Kinmen’s new Landscape Monument terminal will serve as a gateway between mainland China and Taiwan and is expected to accommodate 5 million passengers annually.

Courtesy Inhabitat