Taipei - Taipei is inviting international architects to design a world-class performance centre so that Taipei can have a good venue to stage large performances, a newspaper reported Friday.

The Taipei city government will invite world-renowned architects to join a competition to design the performance centre at Shilin on the north-western edge of Taipei, the Taipei Times said.

The 2.2-hectare Taipei Performing Arts Centre will house a 1,500- seat theatre and two 800-seat theatres.

Hoping to make the centre a cultural landmark like Taipei's National Theatre and National Concert Hall, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said that Taipei will allocate 4.3 billion Taiwan dollars (140 million US dollars) for the project and hold an international design competition to select the best design by next year.

About 15 per cent of the budget will be awarded to the winning team, chosen by a committee headed by Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

"We are confident the project will attract the interest of several of the world's top 10 architects," Hau said. "We want the best team, and the city government will give the architects all the creative freedom to do their work."

The Taipei Performing Arts Centre, scheduled to start construction in 2010 and open to the public by 2013, will allow performing groups to hold regular shows that run from three to six months.

The city government expects the centre to help with the development of local performing groups and build up Taipei's image as a cultural city, the Taipei Times said.

The city government will also invite international architectural teams to design two other cultural facilities: the Taipei Pop Music Centre and Taipei City Museum, the daily said. (dpa)