The National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) has created tactile 3D models of its pipe organ for the visually impaired to experience one of the hall’s defining features.
A set of three models of the famous pipe organ at the National Concert Hall in Taipei were made at 1:30 scale, with some parts hand-carved and others made with 3D laser engraving technology, enabling the visually impaired to learn about the instrument through touch and sound.
The models seek to accurately represent the instrument’s intricate construction in its entirety, including its sophisticated construction and carvings, the NTCH said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
The pipes were made with two different materials, and the set also includes a representation of the keyboard.
They are to feature prominently in the hall’s guided touch tours on April 25 and May 29, which people can register for on the NTCH’s Web site, it said, adding that more sessions would be added.
The pipe organ was handmade by world-renowned organ-building company Flentrop in the Netherlands, tailored to the architecture and scale of the venue, the NTCH said.
The 9m-long, 14m-wide instrument was the largest pipe organ in Asia at the time of its completion, it said.
The NTCH has been striving to integrate the values of sustainability and inclusiveness into its operations in the past few years, NTCH general and artistic director Liu Yi-ru (劉怡汝) said.
Barrier-free access and facilities were incorporated in its Performing Arts Library during a renovation in 2021, while accessibility services such as performances accompanied by contextual subtitles and audio descriptions are offered at the theater and concert hall, she added.
Following the success of touch tours launched at the National Theater in 2017, the NTCH this year organized similar tours at the National Concert Hall to make the venue more accessible to the visually impaired.
The tour, which lasts about an hour, showcases the plaza outside the hall, the lobby, the seating areas and the pipe organ, the NTCH said.
Visitors are invited to familiarize themselves with the plaza and surrounding areas with a tactile guidebook, and are encouraged to “get a feel for” the marble walls and the handrails in the lobby, it said.
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