Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

On December 13, 2021, the Formosa Association of Sustainable Care For Living Environment held the “22nd National Golden Award for Architecture” award ceremony at the Taipei Hero House. The New Construction Office of the Public Works Department of the Taipei City has won awards for 2 projects, including the Quality Award for Public Construction for the “Taipei City Datong District Yanping Elementary School Overall Reconstruction Project” and for the “Taipei Performing Arts Center Continuation Project (Second Tender).” Furthermore, the “Taipei City Datong District Yanping Elementary School Overall Reconstruction Project” is honored with the first prize of the Quality Award for Public Construction.

“Taipei City Datong District Yanping Elementary School Overall Reconstruction Project” – Located at Changji Street, Datong District, Taipei City, Yanping Elementary School has a history of more than 80 years. As the buildings in the schools were old and the building structure might not be safe, under the cooperation and coordination with the Department of Education and Department of Transportation of Taipei City Government and due consideration by architects, the school authorities took care of student resettlement before the reconstruction was carried out. The project is completed ahead of schedule in 2021, and teachers and students are now back to school with joy. Based on the design concept of “urban window,” the architects make good use of the access of the campus facilities, walkways and the open structure of the walls to close the gap between the campus and the community. In addition, gardens and squares are set up so that people passing by the school will have a clear view of the campus, as clear as seeing the products behind the glass when they’re shopping. To enhance vistas, the campus facade design uses simple geometric shapes and presents an enframed scenery through the balance of vertical and horizontal structure, as well as using elements such as glass, window recess, rain shields and railings, with high and low frames. Along with rich shadows and patterns on the facade, it aims to create a new and vibrant urban landscape. By keeping a variety of trees at the original place, opening the campus to the public, and sharing green resources with people in the neighborhood, it makes teaching closer to the ecology and allows local residents to feel the refreshment and vitality of the campus, so as to create an urban window green landscape. The contractors take the initiative to adopt building information modeling (BIM) and other technologies to complete relevant evaluation on the construction process and interface, which prevents confusion on shop drawing and thus increases construction efficiency, so as to ensure the quality and complete the construction ahead of schedule.

“Taipei Performing Arts Center Continuation Project (Second Tender)” – Located at one of the art attractions in Taipei City, Taipei Performing Arts Center has been named by CNN as one of the eight most anticipated and transformative buildings and received the comment “Taipei Performing Arts Center, with its striking architecture, defined by a giant silver sphere protruding from one side of the building - seems set to become a city landmark of this full of culture and quiet city,” which contributes to Taipei City being selected by Time Magazine as one of the 2021 World's Greatest Places. Taipei Performing Arts Center is the only proscenium playhouse with a spherical shape in the world. Three theaters from different directions are embedded within the central large-scale cube. Each theater can operate independently or combine into a huge theater with 2300 seats if needed, which inspires the creativity of theater artists and becomes an unprecedented undertaking in architecture and theater design.