I doubt that Taiwan is famous for architecture, maybe for some exceptions like Taipei 101 or the buildings from the Japanese colonial period. Frankly speaking, the first impression I got from buildings here, is that they look “interesting”. This is probably because of the appearance of the buildings: some are cluttered with advertisement boards, or with seemingly randomly placed AC units, or full of these metal bar cage-like things (no idea how to name it) in front of each window, and then the facade of most buildings was never cleaned or never got some fresh paint (subtropical climate + air pollution makes it even look worse). Also there are a lot of buildings with, let’s say, unorthodox design (the high-heel-shoe-shaped church in Chiayi might be an extreme example).
However, all this together gives Taiwanese cities a very unique and special look. And I mean it in a positive way. When going through cities with open eyes, looking carefully at buildings, then behind all this ugliness, interesting architecture appears. Over the last years I found more and more buildings in Taipei, which have a very appealing look. Recently I started to take photos of them, and the first set is presented here. In the future I will present more photos of interesting buildings on my blog.
Taipei World Trade Center – Xinyi Road, Section 5 – Taipei City, Xinyi District
台北世界貿易中心 – 信義路五段 – 信義區台北市
Xinyi Road and Guangfu South Road intersection – Taipei City, Xinyi District
信義光復南路口 – 信義區台北市
Department of Chemistry – National Taiwan University – Taipei City, Da’an District
化學館 – 國立臺灣大學 – 大安區台北市
Zhongxiao East Road and Guangfu South Road intersection – Taipei City, Da’an District
忠孝東路光復南路口 – 大安區台北市
Farglory Financial Center – Keelung Road and Songgao Road intersection – Taipei City, Xinyi District
遠雄金融中心 – 基隆松高路口 – 信義區台北市