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The Aesthetics of Architecture in Taiwan |
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Taiwan’s island culture has been enriched over the centuries by the arrival of people from different nations and backgrounds. This is no more true than in the field of architecture. Taiwan sits at the heart of the Festoon Islands that lie off the coast of the Asian continent in the Western Pacific, and over the past several hundred years it has been exposed to and has infused into local structures architectural elements from a number of civilizations. Among the foremost of those buildings still extant are Fort San Domingo in Danshui and Fort Zeelandia in Tainan built, respectively, by the Spanish and the Dutch during each power’s period of greatest influence on the island. During the Ching dynasty, newcomers from southern Fujian and Hakka immigrants from Guangdong on the Asian continent built settlements. The Japanese built what is nowadays called the Office of the President as well as prefecture halls and tree-lined boulevards in major cities during their colonization of Taiwan from 1895 to 1945.
Following the retrocession of Taiwan after World War II were built National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (designed by Wang Ta-hung), the Grand Hotel and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (both designed by Yang Cho-cheng). More recently, Taipei 101 (designed by C.Y. Lee), the Hsinchu High Speed Rail Station (done by Kris Yao) and the Main Stadium for the Kaohsiung World Games (conceived of by Japan’s Toyo Ito) have all taken their place in Taiwan’s skyline. Ancient and modern, these structures have been the multicultural spice enhancing the stew that is architecture in Taiwan. However, as Taiwan is densely populated, it is only natural that what have traditionally been valued in architecture are practicality, flexibility and the rapid application of new ideas. These have led to a belief propagated by some that architecture here lacks a distinctive style, but the island’s cities demonstrate their vitality and thrive on the fact that their buildings can be adapted to serve a wide array of purposes. The Allure of Temple Architecture
Temples are the faith centers for the island’s people and can be found in every village and hamlet in Taiwan. Many serve as local landmarks, having been part of community life for centuries. These structures also account for the bulk of the nation’s historic sites. Well-known among these are Bao-an Temple and Longshan Temple in Taipei, Zushi Temple in Sanxia, Longshan Temple in Lugang, Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Confucius Temple in Tainan and Mazu Temple in Penghu. Masterpieces of traditional art, temples are a key part of Taiwan’s cultural heritage. In addition to their striking exteriors, temple buildings also exhibit the beauty of many art forms, including carving, painting and sculpting. These wooden structures bear the marks of no nails, having instead been constructed with mortises and tenons. Dougong braces, a unique architectural technique developed in China that consists of bow-shaped braces sitting atop square blocks, transfer the roof’s weight via pillars to the ground below. Standing before the entryway at each of these houses of worship are stone lions, who serve to protect the temple and welcome worshipers. Other ornamentation includes decorative pillars bearing dragon reliefs, caisson ceilings and brick-and-mortar windows. The buildings and the carvings and paintings inside them bear witness to the artistic sense and crafting skills of the people who created them over time. Crafting the Local Experience
Asia experienced rapid economic growth after World War II. However, Taiwan was unable to fully tap into its potential due to an insufficiently open political and social climate and high land prices that distorted the local real-estate market. It was only following the end of martial law in the late 1980s that society began to come to life. The possibility with which this period teemed found its greatest expression in the Comprehensive Community Development Movement of 1996, a grassroots campaign to care for and shape the physical environment that showed the effectiveness of people power.
Starting in Yilan, local architects over the past 20 years have worked indefatigably to make professionalism and quality bywords for their craft. Thanks to their efforts, elements that did not directly stem from Taiwan’s rapid economic rise but have given Taiwan’s people a higher quality of life have been introduced. Among the structures they have designed are Yilan County Hall, Dongshan River Water Park and Yilan County’s main administrative center by Japanese firm Atelier Zo; Lanyang Museum, plans for which were drawn up by Kris Yao; as well as the Jiaoxi Township Office, the plaza outside of the Yilan Train Station and the Performing Arts Plaza in Sanxing Township, all by Huang Sheng-yuan. Kaohsiung City likewise has had its share of stunning architectural creations. Beautification projects such as the “Heart of Love River” pedestrian walkways, brainchild of Taiwan’s Malone Chang Architects, have inspired a host of additional improvements along the river. The city has also been given a fresh new mien thanks to designs by award-winning architects from around the world, including the Central Park subway station by Richard Rogers of the United Kingdom, the Talee Star Place and Talee Department Store by the Netherlands’ UNStudio, and the Kaohsiung World Games Main Stadium by Japan’s Toyo Ito. Rebirth after the 1999 Earthquake The earthquake of September 21, 1999 was the worst natural disaster in Taiwan’s history. However, it served as a turning point for architecture. The New School Movement kicked off by the Ministry of Education in the wake of the temblor was a driving force that helped architects rebuild damaged or destroyed schools. This event also caused architects to reflect on their responsibility to the communities in which they live and work. Architects who once might have only been interested in creating their own style began to use existing elements from the surroundings in their designs. As such, buildings started to reflect their neighborhoods more, incorporating details from both local culture and nature. One structure reflecting such a trend is Tannan Primary School, designed by Chiang Le-ching.
Other architects got involved with social reform. One, Hsieh Ying-chun, helped people of the Thao indigenous group rebuild their community. Architects Jay W. Chiu and Chuang Hsueh-neng designed the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan in such a way that visitors would get a visceral feel for the natural disaster, as the museum is sited on the remains of a junior high school leveled by the quake. In the aftermath of the earthquake, views on architecture changed. Since 2000, with the exception of Taipei 101, no large landmark structures have been built. Taiwan is now a place in which building design must reflect community views on the subject and where there is a new conception of what public spaces should look like. International Practices and Building Sustainably Today, architects in Taiwan cannot concern themselves only with the function or design of a single structure, but must consider each site’s environs, geographic conditions, urban planning needs, community consciousness, the pulse of society, corporate image, and local industries and cultures.
The government at the central and local levels in recent years has worked to nurture the cultural and creative industries by holding international design competitions. Other major projects are the National Palace Museum Southern Branch, designed by Antoine Predock and to be completed by Fei & Cheng Associates; the Wei Wu Ying Center for the Arts, designed by Netherlands-based Mecanoo; the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, designed by Toyo Ito; the Taipei Main Station stop of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System, designed by Fumihiko Maki; and the Taipei Performing Arts Center, designed by Rem Koolhaas. In sum, open international competitions, an innovative mechanism to select winner and coherent blueprints allow for new heights in creativity to be reached in design. Taiwan will show the world that, in architecture, it has just as much vision as other nations.
Moreover, sustainable development has become recognized by the community as a benchmark against which to measure progress. “Green” building is a part of this, as it uses the least amount of resources most effectively and has the lowest cost to the environment of any building strategy. Several green buildings have been constructed in recent years, among them the Taipei Public Library’s Beitou Branch and exhibition halls for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, both designed by Kuo Ying-chao and Chang Ching-hwa. These structures reflect concepts particular to green architecture like considering the ecology of the job site and overall energy consumption. On these projects, the architects also endeavored to incorporate aspects of local culture. In a similar vein, the Main Stadium for the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games has 8,844 solar panels and is the first stadium in the world to produce over 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. It is also environmentally conscious in design, curving to utilize sunlight in the most effective manner while keeping athletes and fans protected from the worst heat of the day. Making Beauty a Part of Life Taiwan is home to many historic architectural treasures and a growing number of impressive new structures as well. The government has adopted sustainable development as a core value in recent years. In line with this, it has been investing a great deal of time and money in bringing artistic concepts and elements from the natural environment into the design of public facilities. This will open up a new era for Taiwan by making living arts a part of the culture. By promoting this move to incorporate art into people’s lives, we seek to awaken greater public awareness of beauty and encourage people to join in work to beautify public spaces and improve the living environment here in Taiwan. Original Chinese article by Chang Chi-yi
CULTURAL TAIWAN |
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