Modern Taipei Architecture isn’t the most exciting, but some buildings are definitely not as attractive as others, like a certain building in Tienmu.
It looks like bits of design cobbled together. The exterior forgot to focus on simplicity. From the outside, it appears to lack unity, the consistent use of concrete and other building conventions notwithstanding. I wonder what it looks like inside.
What’s the story?
So I did a little research on the history of the building. It seems that the original building had serious structural issues that necessitated residents evacuating the building.
The reconstruction involved three parties: the city (as part of its renovation program), the residents and the property developers. The design seems to highlight some of the discussions that went on as the architects tried to satisfy all the parties involved.
However, the previous building looked really like this in 2009.
Delving into the Google Maps archives suggests even more issues in the rebuilding as part of the rebuilding was redone itself! Still I don’t think anyone doubts that the rebuild is much higher quality and looks much better, despite the design compromises.
It certainly promises a much higher standard of building safety than the one it replaced. I wonder if the residents are happy. Perusing the interior images, it seems spacious, light and very, very modern. I’d be happy there.