Skip to main content

Congested Idyll - Taiwan

 

Long time ago there is a small country which has been infused with Confucius ethos and Westernized system. It is a curious mixture and it is fascinating how it opereate. As soon as you stepped onto this land, immediately you are connected to the vitality of the street life and the warm welcoming attitude from its citizens. Streets are congested, however paradoxically they are made up of low density dwellings, that's especially the case with cities outside of the capital city Taipei. You would find that they are primarily composed of  two or three level units and usually the first level is used as shop or parlor.  As Jane Jacob points out in her book 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities, if a city's streets look interesting, the city looks interesting, if they look dull, the city look dull. Usually big congested city leaves you an unpleasant impression, however, the cities in Taiwan offer you an aperture into the peaceful ordinary lives that fade into the background of chaos.

  
 All photographs are © Copyright 2021 Connie Yan. All Rights Reserved. 
 
 

Comments

  1. This sums up the role and effect of streetscape really well. I haven't read this book by Jane Jacobs yet, but it is moving up my reading list now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know, it is a must have. Please let me know what do you think after reading it! And may I know who this is? Because I really appreciate your comment :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Woollahra House

This weekend, an old friend of mine invited me to visit the construction site of her future home in Woollahra and take some photos. She is a material supplier and she want to use her brick and tile for her future home. She has engaged with an interior designer to make sure they are delivered in a thoughtful way. When I was in her site, there are several moments that strike me the most. The junction between the skylight and the brick wall, I was amazed of how it was executed as perfect clean lines and how the light dances upon the brick wall, slowly revealing its textures.    The perception of the depth of space, almost reminds one of Mies Van Der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. Openings in brick wall frames the space, adding extra layers to the eye, the space is perceived to move forward and backward at the same time.    The bespoke feature ceiling in an inverted arch form, the kind of organic gesture usually employed in public space making. It is very interesting to see ...

Build a Chinese Landscape painting like a farmer

I think I know Wang Shu and his work well. A Pritzker prize winner who source local craftsmanship and material and manipulate them in a modern way. But after a trip to Hangzhou and Suzhou, I realise that I don’t actually fully understand his work. Before modelling in the computer, Wang Shu would finalise every detail in sketch format. He would think about how one opens a door, things that would occur in the space, how one turns his body to look at the mountain in the distance, how one looks up, how one look down. He would relate his methodology to the methodology of a farmer who thinks through his hands and close contact with the physical material. He also refers himself as a philosopher and a Buddhist apart from an architect. He drew inspiration from traditional Chinese landscape painting and Chinese garden. In traditional Chinese architecture, nature should be the focus and architecture is just a small portion of it. In Western thinking, building and landscape are separate and usuall...

My obsession with Chinese Vernacular Architecture - Beijing