Taipei Travel

Coexistence and reorganization of spatial patterns between the past and present

The N24 Ark Taipei was originally one of the warehouses of the Taiwan Power Center. It was the Songshan Workshop of Taiwan Power during the Japanese colonial period and later served as the Songshan Repair Plant of Taiwan Power after the war. Initially, the building was a warehouse, so the design needed better lighting and ventilation.

After understanding the functional and volumetric usage characteristics, the design team collaborated with the Eastern Doorway Project to focus on office use as the design objective. Regarding renovation techniques, the warehouse is separated and extended outward to allow more natural light to enter the interior. The height of the roof layer allows for the deconstruction of the office space, allowing for its vertical relationship development.

Introducing new functions to respond to the trend of the new era

The design team breaks free from spatial constraints and plans for unfixable functional spaces such as offices, discussion, and leisure using the concept of community mobility. It allows users to maintain the freedom and space for communication while working. Moreover, considering the historical building, the design team carried out hardware reinforcement, such as steel structure reinforcement and seismic wall construction, during the restoration process. Besides, the team has preserved the appearance of the material and overall usage traces, and steel structures have been used as new materials to highlight the style of the original materials. The restoration technique of respecting the historical context while protecting some of its original appearance allows us to see the mottled walls and the footprints left by time from various perspectives. In addition, walking up to the second floor and entering the "Blockchain Innovation Center office space," the design team chose to use shock-absorbing walls as point structures to address the problems arising from aging the old house. At the same time, it can also retain the beauty of the original reinforced concrete structure.
And following the light and the revolving staircase in the atrium, we arrived at the rooftop area. The design team designed the sloping volume of the rooftop atrium to use side windows to introduce sufficient light. The volume and shape of the design also echo the "Ark" image of the N24 Ark Taipei, becoming a representative image of the entrance to the park.

Redefining Community Space by Extending the Context

Based on current observations of community connectivity, the design team collaborated with the N24 Ark Taipei, which uses a Blockchain Innovation Center as the office space. The team expands the definition of "community" space to the interaction of "communities," regardless of entities or such relationships. It truly depicts the future mode of people's interaction and is also one of the development trends. The combination of core concepts and design techniques, as well as the restoration of space, creates a "human-oriented" architectural space that reproduces the charm of the space.