3 minute read
Rhapsody of Taipei Modernity in the 21st Century
Creative Destruction: The Keelung River Era of Taipei City
Rem Koolhaas is an architect who is good at writing urban modernity. Starting from Delirious New York 1, just like Walter Benjamin writing Paris as the capital of modernity in the 19th century 2, New York is Koolhaas’ capital in the 20th century. Benjamin planned to highlight the modernity of Europe in the 19th century through Paris with a large amount of historical materials to compile various aspects of the magic of capitalism in the 19th century. He described the world which was secretly connected like underground stems and revealed the unique image of dialectics in that era, similar to what David Harvey wrote in Paris: Capital of Modernity. 3 For me, OMA’s Taipei Performing Arts Center is exactly the Taipei version of Harvey’s writings about Paris modernity.
Harvey once said that modernity is a complete break from the past through creative destruction. From this perspective, modernity relating to Taipei Performing Arts Center originated nearly 60 years ago, and in the past 60 years, it had been the most important momentum that influenced the development of capitalism in Taipei city. In 1965, the Taipei City Government launched the first straightening project of the Keelung River. New river courses were dug in the Shezidao area to replace the old ones. A large portion of the old Keelung river courses, which were more than two kilometers long, was filled up with soil and became “the Second Redevelopment Zone in Shilin District” 4, whose southern end is the site of Taipei Performing Arts Center (Figure 1). It was the large-scale of relocating mountains and filling up rivers which erased the old looks of nature and humanity that Taipei Performing Arts Center can be established today. (Figure 2) On the basis of this “successful experience”, in the 1980s, the city government continued the second straightening of the Keelung River 5, which mercilessly changed the landscape of over 17 kilometers from Nangang to Neihu. The two straightening projects produced more than hundreds of hectares of new land, provided capitals and accumulated firewood, created the prosperity of Neihu Technology Park, and injected vitality into developing national and global technology industry. Subsequently, Taipei East Gateway in the east end along with Beitou Shilin Technology Park and Shezidao Development Project in the northwest end started, and finally the Keelung River Straightening in Taipei City completed the puzzle. (Figure 3) These were the greatest modification of landscape in Taipei City after World War II, with mountains and rivers drastically moved, majestic avenues built, and countless high-rises bringing prosperous streetscape. There are even Ferris wheels, MRT, large exhibition halls, splendid corporate headquarters, and most importantly - the promise of future prosperity, no matter it really is going to be fulfilled or it’s a mere false promise.
The reason why dredging the Keelung River became the greatest modern project in Taipei city at the end of the 20th century is actually related to the uniqueness of the Keelung River and the modernization process of Taipei City. Even though Taipei was born due to the water transport of the Tamsui River system in the Qing Dynasty, since the Japanese colonial period, modernization of Taipei city has been the process that constantly regards water as an enemy which must be drained away from the city. The first embankment in Taipei was constructed in 1899. Since then, embankments have been constructed and thus Taipei has been developed into a city which is completely surrounded by embankments and whose life is completely separated from water. In history, the Taipei Basin had become a large lake several times. Water is extremely active in the natural history of Taipei. The latest Taipei Great Lake was formed at the end of the 17th century, simply 300 years ago. Therefore, there were big and small waterways covering Taipei, and wetlands and ponds were seen everywhere. Residents back then developed “the city of water” lifestyle based on the geographical characteristics. 6 Shu, Guo-Zhi, Water City Taipei However, over 120 years, embankments had been constructed generation by generation. The downtown area of Taipei had been expanded from west to east, and waterways in that area were filled up with soil and water was drained away to such a degree that life in the area had nothing to do with water. Thus, the city of water was turned into the city of land. The total length of the embankment exceeds 109 kilometers 7, which is slightly shorter than the length of the highway from Taipei to Miaoli.