"Large -scale urban design should consider Small -scale physical behavior; Small-scale architectural design can be extended into Large-scale global spaces."
As an architectural designer and urban researcher based in Taipei, I observe that Taiwan's urban spaces are largely influenced by global politics , regime changes, and traditional Chinese styles, often resulting in largescale, authoritarian designs.
Over time, the meanings embedded in large-scale urban spaces have faded, revealing past neglect of citizen culture and human scale. In response, my urban research aims to intervene from multiple perspectives, reconnecting past urban spaces with daily urban life.
By exploring the transformation of lived experiences within urban, architectural, and built environments, existing multilayered urban scenes can be reinterpreted and integrated into contemporary design within the context of spatial transformation. Urban spaces are no longer permanent entities but rather adaptable and responsive, capable of accommodating future changes while ensuring maximum social and public accessibility.
In this portfolio, I organize the projects from large to small. Nevertheless, every project engages in multi-scale and multi-perspective dialogues, striving to reflect the diversity of issues and typologies. This approach not only respects historical contexts but also promotes adaptability to future needs, contributing to a more sustainable vision for Taiwan.
Taiwan: A Small Island with a Large International Impact
Hyperlogistics
Taiwan: International Logistics Hub
How to Ensure Goods Reach Consumers with Efficiency?
Taiwan enjoys a prime geographic location, offering a significant advantage for developing international logistics. However, the lack of unified planning between international and local logistics in the past has led to prolonged delivery times. This project reimagines Taiwan's existing logistics system by integrating maritime, air, and public transportation under the concept of "Hyperlogistics" to address future trends, including the diversification of global supply chains and the rapid growth of e-commerce demand. Through this initiative, I aim to enhance logistics performance and elevate Taiwan's international visibility.
Academic Work
Type: NCKU Fifth Year Optional Design Studio
Instructor: Wan-Yu Liu
Site: Taoyuan, Taiwan
Year: 2021
Hyperloop New High-Speed Transport System
Taoyuan International Airport is only 20 kilometers away from Taipei Port By establishing Hyperloop—a new high-speed transportation system for passengers and freight—between Taipei Port and Taoyuan Airport, the efficiency of sea-air intermodal transport can be significantly enhanced.
Logistics: Mediums for Disseminating Knowledge
Standardized Logistics System
The lack of unified vehicles is the reason for the inefficiency of sea-air transport. Hyperlogistics system adopts standardized vehicle compatible with sea and air transportation: Hyperbox, Hypercapsule, and Hypercontainer
In addition, the storage design is developed vertically, utilizing artificial intelligence for forecasting and decision-making. With shuttle-based automated storage systems, storage capacity can be significantly enhanced.
Hyperlogistics
International Logistics Hub
The goal of Hyperlogistics is to integrate sea, air, and land transportation. It aims to encourage more countrie s to set up warehouse facilities in Taiwan. Once standardized goods arrive at Taipei Port and Taoyuan International Airport, they will be transported via Hyperloop to Logistics Park and eventually delivered to consumers.
In addition, the current distribution system heavily relies on trucks and infrastructure. Through Hyperlogistic, goods will be transported using mass transit vehicles, providing a more carbon-efficient solution.
Logistics Park
Sea-air cargo integration and multinational hub
The project plans to establish a sea-air logistics park at Taoyuan Airport. The park will be divided into seven zones, with the surrounding area offering space for multinational companies to set up operations and research bases. The logistics park will be connected to the cargo apron through a dedicated apron connection lane, and some cargo will also be transported via the airport MRT logistics system.
Logistics of Airport MRT
People and Cargo Integrated System
This project aims to establish a facility combining logistics and MRT under the future third terminal. The logistics park will be connected to Taoyuan Airport through an underground system. Some cargo from the park will be transported via the airport MRT to Taipei Main Station for distribution, with containers being packaged and processed at the logistics layer before further distribution.
Step 1. Cargo arriving at Taipei Port connect to Hyperloop
Step 2. Cargo and passengers connect to airport Hyperloop upon arrival at airport
Step 3. Sea and air cargo enter the inspection area
Step 4. Cargo enters the logistics park where it is sorted and then transported
Step 5. Some cargo is distributed to MRT logistics layer and re-sorted through automated systems
Step 6. Cargo and passengers transit together, and people can
The Detour of the Errand Redefine
Street through Alleyway Culture
How to deconstruct outdated power spaces and return to citizens?
Due to geographic location, Zhongshan North Road has been an important artery in Taipei since the 19th century. However, with the changes in history, the road has gradually lost its original urban identity
This study deconstructs the historical context of Zhongshan North Road, employing a critical perspective to reinterpret the evolution of urban power spaces and the cultural meanings embedded in its streets and alleyways. It aims to redefine the lost urban identity of the historical street through minimal interventions.
- Thesis Prize, NCKU Department of Architecture
- Merit Award, TEAM20 Architecture and Planning Graduation Projects
- Best Project, The Architecture MasterPrize in Urban Design and Urban Planning
Academic Work
Type: NCKU Thesis Project
Instructor: Cheng-Luen Hsueh
Site: Zhongshan N. Rd., Taipei City, Taiwan Year: 2022
Boulevard of Errand: Deconstructing Power Spaces
"Errand" refers to power spaces created under political considerations, designed to showcase the nation's progress and grandeur to foreign visitors. Common planning techniques include large-scale building setbacks and Chinese-style elements. During the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), Zhongshan North Road served as a critical avenue between the Taiwan Shrine and Taipei Walled City, akin to Japan's Omotesando. Over time, these power spaces gradually lost their urban identity.
Power Spaces with Chinese Style and Large Setbacks
Reinterpret History Context of Zhongshan North Road
President's Way to Work
Nationalist Government Came to Taiwan
First Western-style Street
Quing Dynasty Gate
ZS1 Overpass Underpass
Lots of underground passages and overpasses were constructed due to the president's commuting route, symbolizing the restriction of citizens' physical behavior by political power.
ZS2 Market and Immigrant Street
Imported goods stores initially appeared near diplomatic institutions, but as Taiwan left the UN and diplomatic missions moved out, these areas saw an influx of Southeast Asian immigrants.
ZS3 Temple Believers and Hospital Companions
The Japanese government established the first public health education hospital, and the patients' attendants or worshippers built temples beside it to seek blessings.
Due to the stationing of U.S. military forces, the alleyways developed a red-light district culture, and today, boutique streets and red-light district
The Detour of the Errand: Reconstructing Power Spaces through Alleyway Culture
"Detour" refers to the civic culture I discovered by detouring into the alleyways of Zhongshan North Road. In contrast to the outdated power spaces, the alleyways of Zhongshan North Road more authentically reflect the scale of daily life and the richness of urban living. I interpret "Detour of Errand" as a subjective reading of Zhongshan North Road, hoping to use subtle interventions to allow alleyway culture to spread or transform the outdated urban spaces.
Urban Observation by Image Superimposition
Through the superimposition of images from multiple angles and time as a form of urban observation, the aim is to identify the most suitable intervention between power spaces and alleyway culture.
ZS4 Sex Industry and Luxury Consumption
culture coexist.
Becoming the Most Iconic Urban Street of Taipei
New heights as carriers of alleyway culture
This project aims to analyze the urban structure of Zhongshan North Road and identify four fields that respond to Taipei's rich cultural dimensions , including arts, immigration, healthcare, religion, commerce, and sexual culture. It highlights that Taipei's most iconic cultural expressions are found within its alleyways rather than along the boulevard itself.
ZS2: Inviting Habitat
Connecting local residents with immigrants through cuisine
A new form of faith mechanism integrates into urban landscape
ZS4: Transweaving Catwalk
Blur commodification of women and exclusivity boutique consumption
By introducing four layers as carriers of alleyway culture and redefining the subject-object dynamics of past urban power structures, the project aspires to make subtle interventions that transform politically controlled urban power spaces into humancentered urbanism, ultimately creating the most representative boulevard of Taipei
ZS1: Sensing Tower (Chapter 3) Multisensory Connecting Urban and Memory
ZS3: Soothing Flowerscape
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Qingguang Market
Multilayered Immigrant and Market Activities
The rapid movement of logistics, stage systems, and people from different countries leads to many activities.
Rapidly Moving Market Activities
The market is quite busy in the morning, and the logistics system accelerates the entire process.
Community Center
Provide immigrants with classes and events.
Indoor Market
Shifting Stage System
Event information can be quickly updated and utilized as space dividers.
Goods Conveyor
The second floor functions as storage and facilitates the exchange of food.
Shifting Stage System
Billboards are served as a space divider for events.
Conveyor becomes the
between market and storage space.
Goods Conveyor
Goods are transported to second floor through a conveyor co-constructed with air ducts.
ZS2: Inviting Habitat
Connecting local residents with immigrants through cuisine
The existing Qingguang Market primarily sells local food, and the surrounding area is a hub for immigrants, including Southeast Asian department stores, churches, and parks.
Market Connected to Lives of Immigrants
The new market strengthens the connection between existing immigrants and the city.
In this proposal, a highly open stage space is set up on the second floor of the existing market, equipped with a shifting stage system to host various cultural exchange activities . The newly constructed second-floor cortex serves as a shared food space , connecting local residents with immigrants through foreign cuisines. Additionally, the logistics system, integrated with air ducts, effectively links the market storage with the city. "Inviting Habitat" symbolizes the rapid international movement of people through dynamic logistics and stage spaces, while also reconstructing the power relations of immigrants along Zhongshan North Road.
Faith Transforms into Weight
With the weight of the planting, Flowerscape comes about the vertical shift, and the faith turns out as weight.
Extension of Temple's Activities
Temple-related activities, such as Dharma assemblies and worship rituals, can be held under the flowerscape.
Stage Space
At night, it transforms into a stage for Taiwanese opera performances.
Plants Maintenance
Maintainers prune, pack plants, and hold some exhibitions in the lab.
Connect Ground and Believers The flowerscape extends along the eaves of the temple.
ZS3: Soothing Flowerscape
A new form of faith mechanism integrates into urban landscape
In the past, family members accompanying patients in hospitals would visit temples and light candles to seek spiritual solace, and they would also send floral wreaths to patients as blessings.
Soothing Flowerscape is located between the temple and the hospital. The newly established building layer extends from the temple's roof to the ground, diminishing the temple's authority, and while following tradition, it creates a new and environmentally friendly form of commemoration—plants . People use plants as a medium for blessings and giving thanks to the gods. Through taking and planting, faith becomes a part of the urban landscape This mechanism replaces disconnected memorial practices, actively intervenes in urban life, and reshapes the power dynamics between the temple, the hospital, and the people.
Soothing Flowerscape 1:100 Model
Glass Panels Memorial Garden
Closed Storefront Facades are Bring Back to City Streets
Through multiple entrances and runways, the enclosed boutique street is opened, allowing urban life to intervene.
and Red-light District
The catwalk opens up the enclosed power spaces and reintegrates them with urban life.
Commodities, Models, and Pedestrians Intertwine Catwalk blur the concept of women's commodification in red-light district and the exclusivity of
Commodity Box
Squares are reloaded with urban activities and commercial behaviors.
Street
reconnects the underground boutique street with the city.
ZS4: Transweaving Catwalk
Blur commodification of women and exclusivity boutique consumption
In the past, hotels and boutique streets established their high-end consumption status as hosts to international guests through high-rise buildings, significant building setbacks, and closed entrances. Meanwhile, the adjacent alleyways fostered a red-light district culture, serving U.S. military and international quests. However, as time goes by, high-end consumption is facing challenges
This project uses a runway as an interface between the hotel and urban life, and resembles a giant commodity box encapsulating daily activities. The previously closed-off boutique street is opened, reconnecting the urban streetscape Commodities, models, and pedestrians continuously intertwine, blurring the commodification of women by the red-light district and the exclusivity of boutique consumption behaviors. Power spaces are reimagined to embrace everyday life and reintegrate with the city.
B1 Boutique Street
Runway Connects Boutique Stores
Boutique Shops
boutique consumption.
Bouitque
Catwalk
Back Entrance 1:100 Model
The back entrance allows exhibitions and connects the red-light district.
Transweaving Catwalk 1:400 Model
Boutique Shops
B1 Boutique Street
B1 Boutique Street
ZS1: Sensing Tower - Booom Room
Multisensory Connecting Urban and Memory
How to Reconnect Past Urban Power Spaces with Citizens ?
This project was both a thesis proposal and a submission for the Taipei Fine Arts Museum competition
Zhongshan North Road's historical design included underpasses and overpasses to serve authoritarian rulers, limiting citizens' movements
The installation, located in a large plaza, symbolized the return of urban space to the people. Viewers entered through a sloping ramp, reversing the past physical restrictions.
The project collaborated with a sound artist who collected sounds from various city locations. These sounds created a dynamic atmosphere, allowing the audience to experience the urban imagery and memories of these places through touch, sight, and hearing.
- 1st Prize, Taipei Fine Arts Museum X-site Competition 2021
- Distinction, Taipei Design Award
- Merit Award, Golden Pin Design Award
Self Work
Type: Taipei Fine Arts Museum X-site Competition
Role: As the leader of team A4R, I primarily focus on concept development, structural analysis, architectural design, and construction.
Team: Rhea Hwang, Bing-Hao Xie (3)
Site: Taipei Fine Art Museum Plaza, Taiwan
Year: 2020-2021(Completion)
Reversing the Bodily Constraints Experienced in the Past Viewers entered the stage through a sloping ramp, metaphorically reversing the bodily constraints experienced in the past.
Returning Urban Space to Citizens
The installation is placed within the large-scale setback plaza, symbolizing the return of urban space to the citizens.
Sound as a Building Material
Sounds from Various Parts of the City
Experiencing sounds from different regions evokes urban imagery and place-based memories of each area.
The addition of vibrators allows people to perceive the sound and environment by touching the material.
Center of Stage
center of the stage is where the most intense sound is perceived.
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
The Grand Hotel Taipei
Past President's Residence
The
On the Slope Slope becomes not only a passage but also a place to perceive sound.
Performance Space
The idle urban plaza becomes a stage for citizen performances.
Sound Link:
Urban Sound Tower
The
National Museum of Taiwan History Expansion Corridor Connecting Taiwan's History
How to Achieve Global Recognition while Embodying its Local Essence?
The National Museum of Taiwan History (NMTH) serves as both a gateway for international visitors and a hub for citizens to explore their history. However, the current exhibition space is limited, hindering the display of extensive research and artifacts.
Originally, the museum's main entrance was on the south, but due to the distance from the parking lot, the western entrance became the primary one, leaving the southern area, with its photovoltaic panels, unused. The Phase II proposal suggests repositioning the entrances of the three main exhibition areas toward the south, sharing a new corridor that connects history and integrates cultural exploration into daily life.
- 1st Prize, National Museum of Taiwan History Expansion Preliminary Planning
Professional Work
Type: National Museum of Taiwan History Expansion Preliminary Planning Office: AxB Architecture Studio(Jay Chiu Architects & Associates), Taiwan
Role: As a project designer in the planning and schematic design phases, I focus primarily on strategy development, site analysis, plan and diagram drawing, and rendering.
Site: Tainan, Taiwan
Year: 2023-Present
a. Three Main Exhibition Spaces
The existing special exhibition , permanent exhibition area, and archive area will be expanded into three main exhibition entities.
b. Entrance as the Key
In this proposal, all three major exhibition areas will have their entrances facing the south. This corridor not only provides a functional and comfortable pedestrian route but also serves as a historical walkway connecting the exhibition spaces and creating a lively public area.
c. Water Circuit and Greenbelt Continuity
The project combines the two water zones into one large area to promote dynamic water flow, supporting biodiversity. The southwestern parking lot will feature artificial greening, completing the circular ecological greenbelt and finishing the ecological puzzle.
A Three Main Spatial Components
Special Exhibitions/Permanent Exhibitions/Collections
D Massing Strategy
Rational Allocation and Integration with the Landscape
Disruption of Greenbelt
The parking lot has disrupted the continuity of the greenbelt.
Interruption of Waterbody
The waterbody is divided into two disconnected sections, resulting in a lack of integration.
The Unclear Entry
The
from the parking lot. Strategy
Inactivation of Water
B The Entrance Is Key
Redefine the entrance locations for each exhibition area
E Linking Aquatic Systems in a Loop
Introducing Dynamic Water for Scenic Regeneration
C Corridor of History
Linear Open-Access Public Space
F Extension of the Greenbelt
The Last Piece of the Green Space Puzzle
Unused Southern Space
Rooftop Greening
Connecting parking areas with greenbelts.
Clear Entry and Circulation
The
exhibition areas.
Water Encircle a Historical Peninsula The
Main Entrance and Special Exhibition
Outdoor Photovoltaic Panel Bridge Connects to the Exhibition Area Looking Back at the Historical Corridor from the Archive Three Architectural Complexes Aligned in a Straight Line The long corridor entrance effectively directs visitors to the permanent exhibition, special exhibition, and archive.
A Pathway for Living, A Corridor of History
The new project provide a large space for public use. Visitors can stroll through the park, enjoy lunch in the corridor, sip afternoon tea, explore the latest contemporary history exhibitions.Finally, the National Museum of Taiwan History evolves into a large park surrounded by greenery. It becomes a more approachable, land-connected national-level museum, enhancing its international visibility while preserving its regional identity!
SPECIAL EXHIBITION
Entrance Plaza and Scenic Bridge
Nighttime View of the Museum from the South
View of the Museum from the South
Endless Monument
Monument to Taiwan's Presidents
EXHIBITION
How to Carry Memory and Foster Public Participation?
Taiwan's political power consists of two forces: one is the bottom-up transmission of power through public participation, and the other is the political elite, elected by the majority of the people. In the design of the Presidential Library, the aim is to highlight the relationship between governance and public participation, telling the story of the Republic of China's development while shaping current democratic constitutional system.
I believe that the Presidential Library is not only a tribute to political leaders but also a representation of continuous historical change, commemorating the relationship of mutual checks and balances at the core of Taiwan's power structure. The "Endless Monument" will embody the monumental nature of the presidency and public participation through continuous exhibition spaces and public service functions.
- Honorable Mention, Taiwan Presidential Memorial Library Competition
Academic Work
Type: Taiwan Presidential Memorial Library Competition
Instructor: Cheng-Luen Hsueh
Site: Taipei City, Taiwan
Year: 2021
Binary Spatial System: Exhibition and Reading Rooms
Taiwan's
Historical Corridor 1911-Present FL+20~350
Endless Exhibition
The exhibition is organized by the order of presidents' terms, with changes in elevation separating different rooms. As new presidents are added, the layout can be easily reconfigured.
1st-5th Terms President 1947-1975 FL+350~650
10th-11th Terms President 2000-2008 FL+1250~1550
14th-15th Terms President 2016-2024 FL+1850~2170
Current President 2024-Present FL+2170~
A. Reception
A. Plaza
Protesters spread from the Presidential Office plaza to the site.
Endless Public Participation
The gaps between the exhibition spaces create semi-outdoor areas for activities like ceremonies, reading, and leisure, offering new views of power institutions and memorial parks.
People here present their views on the progress of the country.
People participating in festivals or parades can rest for a meal here.
D. Reading Rooms
People read various forms of historical materials, and it also serves as a study space.
People can watch the ceremony and rest here every day.
C. Atrium
B. Auditorium
E. Semi-outdoor Terrace
Reasearch Room
Section
E. Semi-outdoor Terrace
6
Contact Zone
How to Embody International Issues at the Scale of Human Bodies?
From the Russia-Ukraine war, the pandemic, to the global fight against extreme climate change, we witness the frontline of resistance and distorted relationships brought about by new tools and weapons. These forces constantly pull and redefine boundaries, extending even to the strategic competition over chip supply chains, with Taiwan emerging as the core of a new global Cold War dynamic.
Thus, we position the Taiwan Pavilion as the center point of a new contact zone. Through interaction with the installation, we aim to create novel bodily perceptions and social states, declaring Taiwan as a laboratory of the future and envisioning its relevance to the world.
2nd Prize, Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Competition
Academic Work
Type: Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Role: As a four-person design team member, I mainly focused on Analysis Diagrams, Architectural Design&Drawing, Rendering
The installation features distorted concentric geometries combined with tens of thousands of e-paper tags. Through overlapping of multilayered solid and void frames, a dynamic moiré illusion emerges as body moves through the exhibition.
Taiwan Pavilion at Venice Biennale
-
Taiwan's Resilience and Globalization
The installation highlights Taiwan's resilience during the pandemic, its geopolitical instability, and the crises of climate change. Using a distorted concentric geometric framework and 20,000 e-paper tags, it creates moiré visual effects as viewers move through the space. The distortion disrupts stable references, reflecting the fluid and unstable nature of geopolitics
E-paper technology, with its intellectual property rooted in Taiwan, symbolizes the intersection of global capital, technological innovation, and mobility, emphasizing Taiwan's key role in the global tech landscape.
M: Geopolitical Instability of Taiwan
S: Pandemic and Social Distance
L: New Cold War and Climate Change
Panoramic Scanning Exhibition Exemplified by Taiwan's Warfronts
E-Paper Tag
Support Track Wires
Room B - Research Materials
A simplified concentric circular framework with a central ring-shaped table.
Room C - Light/Projection
Light and shadow project concentric circular lines onto the surrounding walls.
Pulse-driven Exhibition Exemplified by Taiwan's Pandemic
Room A - Body/ Sensor/ Motor
The multi-layered concentric circular installation displays content arranged according to spatialtemporal scales or event themes.
Participatory Occupation Visitors responses can be presented in E-papers.
1. Entrance
Appendix Other Works
How to face the Growing Complexity of Urban Issues?
I believe that contemporary urban designers and architects must be prepared to tackle increasingly complex challenges in the future. Beyond the traditional large-scale development mindset, it is essential to cultivate the ability for multi-scale, multiperspective debates and iterative thinking.
In the appendix, I have included explorations from various dimensions , ranging from conceptual to technical attempts. These efforts aim to broaden the scope of projects and offer more comprehensive approaches to addressing urban issues.
Street Exposition
Academic Work, Central Glass International Architectural Competition, Tainan, Taiwan, 2021
