Taiwan Today

Taipei City is using adaptive reuse projects to promote urban regeneration and foster a culture of creativity.

The Sin Hong Choon building, nestled amid the bustling streets of one of Taipei’s oldest districts, embodies the city’s capacity for innovation and reinvention. In the 1930s and ’40s, the three-story structure housed one of the largest tea production and trading companies in the Dadaocheng neighborhood, a major commercial and shipping hub from around the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Today, Sin Hong Choon is hosting an exhibition that brings this rich past to life through a mixture of traditional and modern displays, ranging from artifacts and re-creations to interactive projections and multimedia presentations.

One of the most eye-catching exhibits is a mural-sized animation depicting an aerial view of the lively streets of old Dadaocheng at the height of the area’s prosperity. Buttons labeled with landmarks from the bygone era sit on the floor in front of the projection. When visitors step on a key, the associated structure is illuminated on the animated map, which also features an overlay of present-day Taipei.

In addition to acquainting visitors with the glory days of the tea trade in Dadaocheng, the Sin Hong Choon exhibition examines the techniques used to restore the historic structure itself. After sitting idle for several decades, it was designated a cultural heritage site by the Taipei City Government in 2009 before undergoing extensive renovations from 2011 to 2015.

Sin Hong Choon tour guide Chen De-en (陳得恩‬) said that the response to the refurbishment from local and foreign visitors has been extremely positive. Current and past inhabitants of Dadaocheng in particular have shown great interest in the project, he noted, adding that a number of elderly former residents of the area returned to Taiwan for the first time in decades to view the exhibition.

“The interactive map provided them with a real walk down memory lane,” Chen said. “They were truly moved to see so many elements from their memories re-created in such great detail.”

Community Revitalization

According to Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐), commissioner of the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), adaptive reuse projects for historic buildings such as Sin Hong Choon play an important role in the capital’s urban regeneration efforts. “Many people aren’t aware that roughly a quarter of all Taiwan’s historical assets are located in Taipei, so these programs are crucial to preserving the nation’s cultural heritage.”

Kuo Chun-liang (郭俊良‬), a former official in the DCA’s Cultural Heritage Division, said that over the past several decades, the local government has transitioned from simply listing structures as heritage sites to fostering their revitalization. Restoration programs, he added, seek to incorporate local cultural and creative businesses so as to facilitate wider community development.

In historic neighborhoods such as Dadaocheng, home to over 60 heritage sites, the city offers subsidies and other inducements to encourage cultural enterprises to set up operations. “You can’t simply focus on renovating a single building,” Kuo said. “Adaptive reuse initiatives should include broader measures to rejuvenate the surrounding environment.”

The results of these efforts are apparent all across the city. For instance, in the famed Ximending shopping district, the Red House, built in 1908 as Taipei’s first public market, has been converted into a thriving venue for cultural and creative events. Another noteworthy example is the more than century-old Beitou Hot Spring Museum in the north of Taipei. The largest public bathhouse in East Asia at the time of its construction during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), it is now a popular museum highlighting the history and culture of the renowned hot spring area.

Creative Hub

The most prominent of the city’s restoration projects is Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Xinyi District. Also dating to the Japanese colonial era, the former tobacco factory was designated a cultural heritage site by the city government in 2001 before being transformed into one of Taipei’s foremost creative hubs complete with multipurpose event spaces, restaurants and stores. The venue hosts a variety of cultural events throughout the year, such as art exhibitions, concerts and seminars.

According to Chung, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is the most popular adaptive reuse project in Taipei among international visitors. “It’s our hope that such heritage revitalization initiatives will help attract more and more foreign tourists to the city in the years to come,” he said.

Its role as a cultural venue aside, the park serves as a platform for promoting collaboration between local artists and companies. Songshan is home to the Taiwan Design Center (TDC), an integrated service organization under the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau. TDC is tasked with upgrading the nation’s competitiveness by fostering creative talents across a diverse range of sectors. It stages regular events at Songshan, such as the annual Creative Expo Taiwan, to showcase local talents and build awareness of emerging brands.

Irene Wu (吳宜珮‬), director of TDC’s International Design Development Section, said the park is helping merge Taiwan’s renowned industrial prowess and emerging design capabilities by facilitating exchanges between creative talents, educational organizations, large-scale companies and not-for-profit groups. “A facility promoting this kind of cross-sector collaboration is rare, even overseas.”

World Design Capital

Songshan’s international profile received a major boost last year when it served as the venue for the International Design House Exhibition, one of the main events organized by the city during its tenure as 2016 World Design Capital (WDC). The city was awarded the prestigious honor in 2013 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, a nonprofit organization based in Montreal, Canada.

According to Wu, WDC activities generated significant interest in design creativity among local businesses and residents, while strengthening international awareness of Taiwan’s capabilities in the field. “The city’s main objective was to rebrand Taipei internationally as a center of design excellence,” she said. “I have great faith that the new creative mindset among young local talents will foster a brighter future for the municipality.”

In addition to hosting design residency programs, Taipei staged several large-scale forums aimed at facilitating international exchanges. The most high profile of these was the Network of Cities Meeting in October 2016, which brought together mayors and other representatives from major cities across the globe to discuss solutions to the challenges posed by urban development.

This was followed by the International Design Policy Conference, with attendees exploring issues such as the social impacts of design and how urban design strategies can be incorporated into government policymaking. “The success of these events highlights the strong global interest in our accomplishments in these areas and the ample opportunities for international collaboration,” Wu said.

Long the political and economic hub of Taiwan, Taipei solidified its status as a global city and one of the foremost cultural centers in the ethnic Chinese world during its tenure as WDC. According to Chung, Taipei’s rapid social and cultural evolution was facilitated by its youthful energy, versatility and freedom of expression. “These traits are evident in all the city’s cultural endeavors, including its heritage preservation projects and year-round festivals, such as the Taipei Arts Festival, Taipei Children’s Arts Festival and Taipei Fringe Festival,” he said.

While continuing to organize major cultural events for local and international audiences, Chung noted that the city government plans to establish new platforms that promote interaction and collaboration between diverse artistic groups from home and overseas. “We’re going to invest more resources in long-term cultural development projects with the aim of helping young people fulfill their creative potential.”

Write to Wendy Kuo at wskuo@mofa.gov.tw