
Ming-Song Shyu Architecture Historian, Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Ming Chuan 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.
This year marks the centenary of the Bauhaus (1919-2019) and the first anniversary of Mr. Da-Hong Wang’s passing. Three Taiwanese architects profoundly influenced by the Bauhaus—Da-Hong Wang, Chi-Kuan Chen, and Chao-Kang Chang—each contributed in distinct ways to the development of post-war modern architecture in Taiwan. Though time has passed and the pioneers are gone, revisiting their legacy today still reveals astonishing cultural depth. On this centenary, it is essential to reflect on the vital cultural assets they bequeathed to us. This four-part lecture series marks the beginning of our profound reflection. This session is “Theme 2: Taiwan’s Architecture and Bauhaus— Chi-Kuan Chen: The Naked Eye, the Object Eye, and the Mind’s Eye in Spatial Practice.”
In 2004, Chi-Kuan Chen received the National Award for Arts (Fine Arts category) from the National Culture and Arts Foundation, a testament to his artistic achievements. His architectural work likewise exudes the poetic ambiance and compositional finesse of landscape painting.
Born in Beijing, Chi-Kuan Chen was immersed in Chinese classics from a young age, and nurtured through exposure to poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He later studied architecture at Central University. In 1948, Chi-Kuan Chen pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois, and eventually worked at Walter Gropius’s firm, The Architects Collaborative (TAC). In 1954, invited by I. M. Pei, Chi-Kuan Chen joined the campus planning for Tunghai University, forging a lasting connection with Taiwan and later becoming the founding chair of Tunghai's Department of Architecture.
Chi-Kuan Chen’s architectural philosophy draws from traditional layouts of Chinese courtyards and gardens, where heaven, earth, and humanity are in dynamic dialogue. More than the architectural form itself, he focused on landscape as a spatial concept—not merely plant design, but the integration of pictorial “negative space” from classical Chinese painting into environmental planning, cultivating an atmosphere of expressive simplicity.
For instance, the spatial composition along Tunghai’s Wenli Boulevard unfolds as a series of layered courtyards, with the boulevard serving as a mediating axis. This arrangement creates a rich sense of spatial depth while maintaining a relaxed, graceful atmosphere. Likewise, his Yangde Building (1982), with its crisp vertical sunshades, reduces the visual mass of the structure, allowing it to sit more lightly within its urban surroundings and softening the bustle of Roosevelt Road in Taipei.