Project Overview

Taipei was once a large lake; Qilian is the lake’s outlet. It was the first settlement to be developed in Taipei, with convenient access to boats and businesses, and was also a stone production base, supplying the stone needs of Northern Taiwan. Battleship Rock is located on the north side of the base and is a famous hill with the appearance of a ship. It is a sandstone and shale with a yellowish-white appearance, weathered and washed to create a smooth and porous surface. The project is next to the Qilian MRT station, with an area of 997.85 square meters. It is expected to build a residential complex with 13 floors above and three floors below ground, with an area of 54 square meters to 34 pings 115 square meters. With the recent economic development and the return of Taiwanese businessmen, urban renewal has been slow. The site has a natural environment and is conveniently located next to an MRT station. The design team hopes to build a multi-dwelling project here to respond to the urgent demand for housing.

Organisation

LRH Architect & Associates

Team

Li-Jen Hsiao

Project Brief

The ground level of the site includes a front yard, an entrance hall, an indoor public community library and community kitchen, and an outdoor courtyard with a green garden. The 54-square-metered to 115-square-metered residential units are located on the 2nd to 13th floors, with roof decks on the 6th and 11th floors. The site's perimeter is surrounded by high-density residential development ranging from the 4th to the 11th floor, with a pedestrian walkway along the baseline and the buildings raised, leaving the green space on the west side and filled with trees to share with the surrounding residents. The library and community kitchen are highly utilized residential and public facilities. The retracted entrance hall also provides a moderate buffer and increases the community’s privacy. The 6th and 11th floors and the roof level are view decks, with views from the northeast to the north side of the warship rock to the highest mountain in Taipei, the Seven Star Mountain. To the southwest is the Danshui River, to the mouth of the sea and the Guandu Plain, and to the southeast is the center of Taipei. All three terraces are closely connected to important landscapes.

Project Innovation/Need

The building is the landscape is the most primitive recognition of the human living environment. The building simulates the battleship rock’s natural shape, which meets Taipei's monsoon wind and introduces appropriate light to provide a good physical environment for the living space. The battleship rock is part of to the Seven Star Mountains, as the crust pushes out to form the shape of a battleship, the shale is sharp and angular, gradually stacking upwards, presenting a masculine character. The outline of the building also imitates the gradual upward stacking and sloping attitude. It is like a space battleship breaking out of the ground and sailing into space with great ambition. It is also hoped that this project will become a vertical landmark for Qilian Station.

Design Challenge

The feng shui theory is set as the basis of spatial arrangement, the building is west to east is wood and the prosperous side is east and northwest. After the building was raised, the open space was left northwest of the prosperous side, and large trees and ponds were appropriately arranged. On the other hand, A 265-square-metered garden pond is provided for the neighboring residences to share. The community library and restaurant on the ground floor and the outdoor pond with a large tree are occasions for living and communicating with nature. Besides, the building materials and corresponding colors are chosen according to the five elements of the building. For economic reasons, six residential units are arranged on each floor, with the size of openings and sunshades adjusted according to public and private zones and orientation. Moreover, the lighting surface is mainly on the south side, and the ventilation path of each room is checked so that wind, water, green trees, and the light become part of life.

Sustainability

Feng Shui is an ancient environmental psychology that seeks a harmonious relationship between man and nature through orientation, landscape, and the stars. In the summer, the southwestern monsoon is directed upward through the atrium to guide the airflow inside the house. In winter, the northeast monsoon adjusts the air flow speed through the wind deflector to reduce heat loss. The main path of air flowing through the large trees reduces the temperature, and the building's façade elements moderate the rate of wind movement. In the arrangement of water flow, a pond is set up and connected to the water storage treatment, and plantings are used on each terrace to retain water and reduce the heat gain from sunlight on the roof. The environment can be appropriately balanced through the arrangement of wind and water. According to people's need for space, wind, water, light, and greenery are randomly arranged according to the important orientation of the living scene.