TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
International Urban Design WorkshopTainan 2011NCKU - AA - NCTU
teachers
Lawrence Barth
Dominic Papa
Maw-Chang Yen
Tzu-Chang Lee (Joe)
students
Huai-Yuan Chang
Chih-Chyi Chang
Yen-Yu Chen
Shiau-Lan Chiou
Chen Hu
Sharon Shih
Hui-Hsin Cheng
Aida Mofakham
Angela Jeng
Florian Dirschedl
Gaurang Nabar
Mithila Satam
Olga Yatsyuk
William Wehbe
TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
International Urban Design WorkshopTainan 2011NCKU - AA - NCTU
TWIN CITY REGIONS p. 2
TAINAN + KAOSHIUNG p. 4
URBAN MOBILITY SYSTEM p. 6
STATION DISTRICT p. 8
A NEW SURFACE p. 10
URBAN CONSISTENCY p. 12
CIVIC LANDSCAPE p. 14
ARCHITECTURE OF INTENSIFICATION p. 16
INNOVATION CLUSTER p. 18
FORESIGHT CLUSTER p. 22
TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION p. 24
The proposed burying of the railway in the centre
of Tainan provides a unique opportunity for the city
to rethink the vocation of its station. However, the
project’s implications transcend the actual scope of
the 10 ha site of the station area and affect a larger
part of the city than just the eight kilometre tunnel
strip. Therefore, the project asks for rethinking the
vocation of Tainan’s centre as a whole.
Hence, a wider territory has to be considered, invit-
ing all urban actors and participants to engage in a
project that exceeds the station limits and discusses
the future of not only parts of the city but the entire
region.
By widening the scope, Tainan’s role and image can
be reconsidered and challenged in different scales.
The contemplation of local tendencies as well as re-
gional and national developments allows for a flex-
ibility and adaptability of the design processes over
time. A comprehensive and incremental design strat-
egy can thus reveal the potential of the project for
the centre as well as the city and the region.
Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011
4 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
The city of Tainan is part of a metropolitan system
in the West of Taiwan, where a number of prosper-
ous city regions are linked through a highly efficient
high speed rail network. This transport network al-
lows for easy accessibility of all major cities along the
western coastline and promotes them to operate as
one labour and knowledge market. By their joint ef-
forts, the different cities establish an integrated sys-
tem of manpower and technology development and
perform as Taiwan’s economic spine in the spatial as
well as the figurative sense.
This spine proves to be top-heavy, however: Albeit
acting in concert as a whole, the cities contend with
each other within this composite. The high tech re-
gion of Taipei / Hsinchu is here most successful and
produces a clear polarity towards the North of the
country.
The success as high tech regions of a number of twin
cities such as Kopenhagen/Malmø and San Fransisco/
San Jose is ultimately rooted in the synergies they
create. A large diversity in population, cultures as
well as in economic production and knowledge ca-
pacities is distributed within an urban region that is
linked through a series of infrastructure projects and
made accessible for the entire region.
Imbalances between adjacent cities are thus lev-
elled, the cities’ individual insufficiencies are com-
pensated. A joint market is created that exceeds the
performance of the cities on their own.
In order to remain competitive and create an ef-
fective counterpart to Taipei/Hsinchu in the South,
Tainan will therefore have to vitalise its individual
potencies and boost its characteristics but - at the
same time - take advantage of the proximity to its
twin city Kaoshiung.
TWIN
CIT
Y R
EGIO
N
DISLINKED
TAINAN / KAOSHIUNG
INTERCONNECTED KNOWLEDGE + LABOURMARKET
Twin City Regions
SAN FRANCISCO / SAN JOSE COPENHAGEN / MALMØ
dislinked cities interconnected citiesHSR + rail
metropolitain entityspecialised regions
2 polesTaipei / Sh?? + Kaoshiung / Tainan
STSP
HSR
6 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
STSP
HSR
As Taiwans major exporting centre in the South,
Kaoshiung is dominated by heavy industries, logis-
tics and transportation entreprises today. Both, the
airport as well as the harbour have national signifi-
cance.
In contrast to Kaoshiung’s industrial focus, Tainan
features an enormous quantity of “soft skills”. The
city’s rich (colonial) history, numerous cultural re-
sources as well as culinary diversity are not only basis
for a high quality of life but also background for a
prosperous tourism. A divers science and research
landscape - with NCKU as one of the best Taiwanese
universities - fosters a wide range of high tech indus-
tries. Talented graduates of the city’s university are
hence easily absorbed in the South Taiwan Science
Park North of the city, as an example.
The two cities’ potentials, however, seem to be un-
derdeveloped and dislinked from each other at the
same time. Consequently, an urban development
strategy is needed, that not only aims at revealing,
deploying and strengthening Kaoshiung’s and Tain-
an’s individual economic as well as cultural and edu-
cational characteristics, but also addresses the cities’
concurrence and cooperation.
TAIN
AN
+ K
AO
SHIU
NG
Twin City Region Tainan/Kaoshiung
KAOSHIUNG
TAINAN
8 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
Key to the recognition of the two cities of Kaoshiung
and Tainan as urban region is their comprehensive
accessibility. Burying the railway in central Tainan is
on the right track for this purpose; yet nowhere near
enough its actual requirements towards an regional
public transport system.
The potential of the transportation system between
Tainan and Kaoshiung does not seem to be efficient-
ly developed. Hence, the station project should trig-
ger a discussion about a new vocation not only of
the station itself, but also of the railway system and
its associated networks.
In this regard, the current local public transporta-
tion can be upgraded to a smart mobility system
that interlinks and converges the entire region. The
integration of smart systems - such as parking man-
agement and mobile transport information - into a
larger reconceived system is an opportunity to show-
case local high tech excellence and will ultimately
increase both acceptance of and participation in
public transportation. In coherence with a an urban
development strategy on a regional scale, this sys-
tem can unfold its full potential.
To quote an example, the now inefficient bus system
could be rethought as polycentric and integrated lo-
cal network that serves the entire city and enables
easy access of all quarters. As a consequence, the
current bus knot in front of the station could be dis-
solved, leading to a slowed down traffic situation
and a better and safer pedestrian environment in
the station area.
UR
BA
N M
OB
ILIT
Y S
YST
EM
reorganisation of the local bus system
COPENHAGEN / MALMØ
TAINAN
KAOSHIUNG
HSR
STSP
TAINAN
KAOSHIUNG
HSR
STSP
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE URBAN MOBILITY SYSTEM
Curitiba_Rapid Transit system
Toronto_ecocab
22@Barcelona_eco city
HsinChu_shuttle system
Curitiba_Rapid Transit system
Toronto_ecocab
22@Barcelona_eco city
HsinChu_shuttle system
Curitiba_Rapid Transit system
Toronto_ecocab
22@Barcelona_eco city
HsinChu_shuttle system Curitiba_Rapid Transit system
Toronto_ecocab
22@Barcelona_eco city
HsinChu_shuttle system
CORITIBA - BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM HSINCHUN - SHUTTLE SERVICEBARCELONA - 22@
TORONTO - ECOCAB MOBILE INFORMATION SYSTEM
transport infrastrUctUre Urban mobility system
10 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
The redevelopment of the station area in the course
of the railway project provides an opportunity to
pull the introduced ideas together. By assembling
the surrounding urban actors of the central busi-
ness district and of the adjacent university and the
cultural quarter, the station’s mere functional voca-
tion can be enhanced to become key element of the
core knowledge and innovation district within an
expanded metropolis.
As a much larger area than just the station area it-
self will be affected by the railway project, a design
strategy has to indicate and incorporate adjoining
sites and detect possible synergies. Consequently the
framework has to be expanded, including NcKU’s
campus in the West and a housing quadrant in the
South.
STA
TIO
N D
ISTR
ICT
expanding the project’s scope
KNOWLEDGE + INNOVATION ENVIRONMENT
HOUSING INNOVATION
FORESIGHT CLUSTER
tran
sport in
frastrU
ctUre
Urba
n m
obility system
STSP
NCKU
CBD
CULTURAL CENTRE
12 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
The construction of the railway tunnel creates a pos-
sibility not only to simply spatially link the currently
separated quarters in the West and in the East of
the station, but allows for the introduction of a new
surface: a field of possible activities between the city
and the university that takes into account the ad-
joining spatial characters and qualities - such as the
university’s sense of privileged spaces - and establish-
es a spatial and programmatic character of its own.
The aspired spatial conjunction is established
through a new pattern of differentiation that is
guided by the framework of the extended the street
grid. This pattern mediates between the city and the
university campus and establishes a spatial hierar-
chy as well as a strategic planning principle that can
adapt to change and intensify over time.
A N
EW S
UR
FAC
E
INTENSIFICATION
FRAMEWORK
PATTERN
SURFACE
STATION DISTRICT
14 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
The investigation of the infrastructure and public
works cycles affords an opportunity to develop a
planning strategy that gives thought to timing, re-
ducing risk for investors and uses the planning proc-
ess to assemble different stakeholders. The phasing
strips running North South allow for an integration
of the station infrastructure into planning processes
and construction at an early stage and thus ensure
planning reliability.
The differentiation of the streets along the station
quadrant produces new frontalities and hence new
addresses towards the city. The grain of the sug-
gested urban fabric mirrors this differentiation, pro-
viding a flexibility of investment with smaller plots
to the commercial western fringe and larger com-
pounds on top of the railway tunnel in the East.
Differentiated from its neighbouring quarters, the
evolving urban fabric will - at the same time - pro-
duce an infrastructural, programmatic and spatial
consistency within the station quarter itself.
UR
BA
N C
ON
SIST
ENC
Y
mediationdifferentiation
CONVENTIONCENTRE
phasing
A B C
CULINARYSTATION
CREATIVEINDUSTRIES
BUSINESSINCUBATORS
STATION BLOCK
40
7 711 11
16 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
Understood as a new surface of urban interaction,
the station district can bring together key stake-
holders and urban performers. The introduction of
a continuous morphology and social infrastructure
that are articulated over time allows for a function-
ally and programmatically divers urban quarter with
its own spatial qualities and productive capacities: a
unique urban landscape that establishes new ecolo-
gies and ways for the university, the city and private
investors (such as the science park’s companies) to
engage with each other, the other side of the station
and beyond.
New patterns of work, work-space, organisational
structures and joint ventures of two or more stake-
holders can influence the organisation of buildings
and the distribution of program and will emerge in
the creation of new places of interaction.
The role of public investments - such as the conven-
tion centre in the North or the conversion of the pro-
tected historic station building into a cultural forum
showcasing Tainan’s culinary excellence - as accelera-
tors of a value-based development will add to this
creation of a new civic landscape.
CIV
IC L
AN
DSC
APE
new places of interaction
18 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
A number of precendences help to understand, how
architectural planning can exceed a mere two-di-
mensional layering of program and functions. The
plans’ vertical transperancy allows for new relation-
ships within the buildings and establishes places of
interaction that are located beyond the common
trinity of Street/Square/Park and intensify spatial -
and collective - experiences: a sharp distinction of
public and private spaces gives way to places of privi-
lege that invite civic life into the buildings.
The examples given investigate the potentials of a
rethought distribution in section, reveal spatial rela-
tions hitherto neglected and demonstrate the ben-
efits of joint ventures for different stakeholders.
AR
CH
ITEC
TUR
E O
F IN
TEN
SIFI
CA
TIO
N
precedences
REVEALING SPATIAL RELATIONS
MODULATION OF PRIVELEDGED SPACES
BRITISH LIBRARY, LondonColin St. John Wilson architects
courtyard: gradation of public spaces
CROSS-SUBSIDISATION + CO-LOCATION
KING’S PLACE, LondonDixon + Jones Architects
offices + concert hall
INTENSIFICATION OF CIVIC RESOURCES
PUBLIC LIBRARY, SeattleRem Koolhaas / OMA
extension of public spaces into building
BOCCONI UNIVERSITY, MilanGrafton Architects
laboratories + lecture hall + underground station
KUNSTBAU LENBACHHAUS, MunichKiessler Architekten
underground station + museum
PROGRAMMING OF UNUSED SPACES
20 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
In the southern section, one can begin to ask how to
make use of the particular geometry of the railway
tunnel construction in order to create an opportu-
nity of a new housing district.
Anchored by the railway station in the north and
bordered by the commercial edge on the West and
larger institutions on the East including hospitals,
a cultural centre and primary and high schools, the
Southern Quadrant makes for an ideal live and work
environment. By offering a variety of living spaces
to attract both the existing residents as well as new
families, doctors and recent graduates, the southern
quadrant has an enormous potential for nurturing a
rich innovation cluster.
To reduce the risk of this development as much as
possible, the project can be broken into several
stages to alleviate the burden of local businesses
and residents from complete demolition. By choos-
ing to develop the eastern strip of the railway first,
it could alleviate the burden the transformation of
the commercial edge to something that can develop
over time. The plan also offers the option of mov-
ing the current residents to an adjacent block of an
abandoned textile mill while introducing the new
and older residents back into the developed area.
Furthermore, as the tunnel nears completion, a park
or open space can be imagined on top of the exist-
ing railway line mirroring the linear garden found
one block east of the site.
As time passes, this gradual development allows
for the transformation of supporting businesses to
adapt in surrounding areas that serve the new influx
of residents and workers in a similar way that Haf-
encity used in their incremental phasing of buildings
and amenities to create critical mass.
INN
OV
ATI
ON
CLU
STER
phasing
22 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
Spatially, the depth of the parcel along the southern
quarter varies in width, thus introducing a new set
of typologies.
Though seemingly foreign at first, the typology of
buildings actually is a mixture of the old and new.
Certain sections along the southern quadrant insinu-
ate a commercial edge. They’re not necessarily re-
tail oriented but could also be live and workspaces.
Secondly, low to midrise studio spaces offer a wider
width of flexibility for different types of innovative
clusters and larger households. Last, the taller apart-
ment blocks are able to house the different types of
residents and sizes of families.
The three typologies combined in one block cre-
ates a certain ecology conducive for information ex-
change found in creative environments.
Furthermore, the back to front orientation of the
primary school or the park hints at a hierarchy of
open spaces and the variation of plazas and setbacks
the buildings have on the block making certain pub-
lic areas more private than others. A block off of St.
John’s Yard in Clerkenwell, London exemplifies this
buzz of creativity with multiple entry points, dif-
ferent sized plazas, and the ability to move around
buildings within the block including an eight-story
apartment building, design offices, historic buildings
and a corner market.
With new links between various kinds of housing
and working studios in the knowledge economy,
one can begin to see a different kind of street which
may link back to the station, offering something dif-
ferent to the area, but nevertheless relatable to a
Taiwanese community. This process of seeding new
developments by the private sector can be followed
as one moves back north towards a new front door
of the University.
HO
USI
NG
TY
POLO
GIE
S
St John’s Yard, Clerkenwell, London
24 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
With the opening up of the new surface of the rail-
way station, the university has a chance to rethink
its new front door. The typical placement of dorma-
tories and recreational facilities towards the back
can be reconsidered in a more ambitious manner to
invite both public and private investment such as re-
search clusters.
The existing proposal for dormitories to be turned
into research facilities is a good starting idea, but
can be pushed further. The nature of the floor plates
is good for just offices, but not laboratory spaces.
By attaching an additional structure connecting
the two dorms, one can imagine a quality of space
ideal for cross-interaction and information sharing
between researchers, students and administrative
workers. Furthermore, the distribution of dark to
light spaces for particular uses such as laboratories
or offices trace similar principles of the Seattle Pub-
lic library as users move up through this new public
space.
The South-Western corner of the university might be
opened up by arranging a series of buildings which
will facilitate incubators and a creative milieu in a
new front situation facing the station. Based on the
logic of open spaces of the university, the campus
will be connected with the rest of the city by a se-
quence of open spaces through which the flow of
people will be able to penetrate through the struc-
ture of the NCKU.
Architecturally it will create a crossovers between
the privileged zone of the University and the public
spaces of the hotel, street market, park and other
public entities surrounding the campus. The spatial
differentiation will appear not only horizontally but
also vertically, creating the conditions of a certain
quality to facilitate the knowledge centre.
The sports fields might appear on the roof of the
buildings with a view to the centre of the city and
surrounded by cafes and restaurants. Multiple roof
gardens will create a new quality for the space.
FOR
ESIG
HT
CLU
STER
Shangri La
CIVIC LANDSCAPE
DEVELOPING NETWORKSOF TRUST
CULTIVATING OPPORTUNITY
26 Urban Design Workshop NCKU + NCTU + AA Tainan 2011 TAINAN KNOWLEDGE STATION
Widening the scope of Tainan’s station development
not only relocates the city within a competitive ur-
ban region, but also allows for an integrated and
comprehensive planning strategy that rethinks the
city’s infrastructural embedment and accessibility.
Moreover, it includes key urban actors and detects
possible synergies between them.
Relieved from the burden to master a mere infra-
structural vocation, the station and its surroundings
can thus evolve into an urban quarter that will a pro-
gressive place of civic, social and economic interac-
tion. As joint venture - with all three the city, private
investors and the university engaging in the creation
of a civic landscape - the station district can unfold
its full potentials to become an environment that is
knowledge-based and innovation driven.
TAIN
AN
KN
OW
LED
GE
STA
TIO
N