Taichung Green Museumbrary officially opened in mid-December 2025. Featuring an integrated complex that combines the Taichung Art Museum and the Taichung Public Library, it has created a cultural venue that blends art and reading, and has become a living space close to citizens’ daily lives. To extend visitors’ experience, the Museumbrary has planned two public service spaces, welcoming pon ding, a platform long dedicated to art books and the curation of independent publishing, and Pharos Coffee, a Taiwan-based coffee brand with a presence in Tokyo, to operate on site, creating a soothing setting where visitors can move freely among art, books, and the aroma of coffee.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government explained that the Pon Ding × Taichung Green Museumbrary shop breaks from the conventional approach of museum shops that primarily sell cultural and creative products, creating a bookstore centered on publishing curation. The shelving and tiered display system in the space was designed by Taiwanese industrial designer Shuei-Yuan Yang, echoing the open and fluid spatial characteristics of the Taichung Green Museumbrary’s architecture. Through themed book selections and publications displays, it presents a specific artistic thematic ambience, and will also plan talks and small-scale exchange events in the future, allowing reading to become a way for visitors to understand artistic creation. The Pon Ding space also features a curated cultural selection area, including Taichung Green Museumbrary cultural and creative merchandise and design selections, curating items that align with the Taichung Green Museumbrary’s overall style, so that the museum’s artistic experience can extend into everyday life.
Pharos Coffee on the first floor embraces the concept of integrating coffee into everyday life, offering light-roast single-origin pour-over coffee, light-roast espresso, and light refreshments such as handmade bread. The café features furniture produced by a Taiwan-based design team and invited Taichung-based synthesizer musician Nick Tsai to create a bespoke auditory ambience for the space, making sound part of the immersive experience. “Pharos” is derived from the Greek word meaning “lighthouse,” symbolizing that within the transparent architecture of Taichung Green Museumbrary, this space is like a lighthouse guiding flavors, enabling visitors to linger, focus on the essence of coffee, and enjoy a calm and comfortable moment.
Yi-Hsin Lai, Director of the Taichung Art Museum, stated that the opening of pon ding and Pharos Coffee at Taichung Green Museumbrary not only enriches the Museumbrary’s range of public services, but also responds to the venue’s core concept, “bringing art into everyday life and making reading part of daily life.” Going forward, she also looks forward to the shops working together with the two institutions, jointly developing exhibitions and cultural and creative products to further expand the diversity of cultural content.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taichung City Government noted that, through reading curation and coffee, pon ding and Pharos Coffee create a soothing everyday landscape, making Taichung Green Museumbrary a cultural hub where citizens are willing to linger, interact, and return time and again, weaving together the scent of books, the aroma of coffee, and art into a wonderful visitor experience. On your next visit to Taichung Green Museumbrary, you may wish to find a corner here and enjoy your own time for reading and coffee.