
Tseng-Yung Wang Director of Bigda Studio
Chun-Hsiung Wang Director, Department of Architectural Design, Shih Chien University
DH Café (No. 153, Section 3, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City)
One lecture for $500, including special snacks (sandwiches, desserts, drinks), and 10% discount on event book purchases.
After World War II, Taiwan's architecture underwent profound changes, with an impact that has not been closed to date. First, the historicism of the prewar architectural mainstream was replaced almost overnight by modernist architecture. Secondly, the construction professionals were mainly occupied by Japanese people before the war, and the vacuum left behind by Japanese people after the war, was mostly occupied by people from mainland Taiwan after the relocation of the National People's Government. Moreover, there was no professional system of architects before the war, and with the advent of post-war rule by the People's Government, it was imposed in Taiwan. Finally, university architecture education, which was unheard of before the war, also emerged in Taiwan. This series of lectures uses this historical change as a scripture, covering four themes of Modernism, Christian Architecture, Roughism, and Chinese Modern Architecture, and attempts to open up a discussion of this little-noticed history of architecture. The theme is “Theme 1: Rude and Poetic Post-War Architecture in Taiwan - Modern Chinese Architecture”.
In 1953, Wang Da-Hong and I. M. Pei simultaneously created two milestone works in Taiwan—Wang Da-Hong’s own residence on Jianguo South Road and I. M. Pei’s design for Tunghai University. Unbeknownst to each other’s project, both architects integrated traditional Chinese sloped roofs and red brick into the spatial and structural language of modernism, establishing themselves as pioneers of Chinese modern architecture in Taiwan.
At a time when the concept of a curtain wall was still unfamiliar in Taiwan, Wang Da-Hong masterfully accomplished one modernist building after another. Meanwhile, during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s across the strait, the Nationalist government in Taiwan sought to construct architecture rooted in Chinese nationalism to reinforce its claim to cultural legitimacy.
Beyond Wang Da-Hong and I. M. Pei, this era saw architects such as Chao-Kang Chang, Chi-Kuan Chen, Chang-Ming Chin, Tsu Hochen, and Er-Pan Kao contributing to a distinct Chinese modernist expression. Simultaneously, Kenzo Tange’s fusion of traditional Japanese timber structures with modernist techniques inspired Taiwanese architects to reinterpret tradition—not through replication or nostalgia, but through meaningful adaptation.
Decades after the development of Taiwan’s postwar architecture, it shows gradual evolution—transitioning from imitation (whether of modernist archetypes or palatial traditions) toward a renewed engagement with the land, the rhythms of daily life, and contemporary realities. Through collective effort, Taiwan continues to distill its own architectural ethos and cultural identity, as the journey is still ongoing.