A cluster of 11 wooden houses constructed in the 1930s are ready to accommodate new uses after undergoing major renovations from 2007 to 2022, demonstrating the government’s commitment to restoring and revitalizing the country’s architectural heritage.
These historic buildings, built in downtown Taipei City’s Daan District during Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), were originally residences for employees of the Taiwan Governor-General Office’s Forestry Division. After World War II, they were taken over by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry under the now-defunct Taiwan Provincial Government before ultimately coming under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau in 1999.
Preservation, restoration and revitalization of former logging infrastructure like employee housing, timber factories and railroads are critical components of the FB’s conservation and redevelopment program. Its overarching goal is to achieve sustainable operations by applying modern business and environmental management practices to bring in revenue from recreational use of natural and cultural resources related to forestry.
The Forestry Bureau's conservation program’s aim is always to repurpose an unused historic building into something new and fresh, while still leaving its core design features intact.
To conserve precious forestry resources for the public, the government employs the services of firms like Hu Architects & Associates in Taipei City. Since its establishment in 2002, the company has undertaken more than 100 restoration projects.
“The 15-year commitment was a massive undertaking whose completion gave us a great sense of accomplishment,” said company architect Hu Tzung-hsiung. He believes such projects are well worth the effort due to the assets’ aesthetic, economic, educational and historical value.
To ensure authenticity, Hu’s team collected information on the buildings’ original design, materials and occupants’ lifestyles before starting work. “We sought to restore the features that give the structures a historic character while allowing for alterations,” he said, and this degree of dedication won Hu and his team awards from the COA and Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs for their outstanding contributions to conservation.
Adaptive reuse makes financial and sustainable sense by preserving historic places and transforming them into new bookstores, shops and restaurants.
According to Lee Yun-chung, director of the FB’s Forest Recreation Division, adaptive reuse takes many forms: refurbished buildings can be turned into places of business or venues for events like exhibitions, lectures and performances. “We’re open to any possibility as long as it involves public access and, preferably, a cultural mission,” the director said. This approach not only extends aging buildings’ useful life spans but also makes sense from a financial and sustainability perspective.
The bureau aims to bring history to life through restoration and adaptive reuse. Lee emphasized that historic buildings enhance Taiwan’s sense of community by forging stronger connections to the past while creating new opportunities for cultural expression, economic development and social interaction. (E) (By Kelly Her)
One of the buildings now serves as a forest conservation exhibition center.
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(This article is adapted from Logging Legacy in the May/June Issue 2023 of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)