People can have a face-lift operation to maintain a youthful appearance or improve their looks. And so can buildings.
Architectural face lifting involves giving a building a certain degree of redecoration or restyling based on its original structure. Charles Lin, a planner architect in the Taipei Department of Public Works, says that the market for exterior remodeling, which has sprung up in Taipei over the past two years, has great potential over the next five years at least.
The reason it has become so popular, according to C.Y. Lin, director of the Taiwan Construction Technology Research Center, is that buildings age rapidly in Taiwan's hot, moist climate and are often poorly cared for, so that even though a building's average life should be more than 50 years, "most of them look worn-out and dissipated before they make it out of their teens. They've never had a fresh and rosy youth, not to speak of a vigorous middle age."
In addition, Taipei's real estate values have been headed the way of Tokyo's in recent years, and when rents and land prices soar, owners are naturally more willing to invest in remodeling. The successful example of the Fortune Dragon Hotel on Taipei's east side is a case in point.
The Fortune Dragon, originally known as the San Polo Hotel, was a stunning landmark on Taipei's east side for several years after it was built in 1978. After buying the hotel in 1987 for NT$1.2 billion, its new owner changed the name and turned to the Lennox Co. (Taiwan) for a complete remolding job. The work has been finished for less than a year now, and the hotel's value has already multiplied several times over.
The first thing the company did after taking on the project, a Lennox manager says, was to study the hotel's geographical situation. The hotel is located in the fourth section of Chunghsiao E. Rd., between Tunhua S. Rd. and Keelung Rd., an area teeming with modern high-rises and fancy department stores. Judged from modern architectural trends, the San Polo's brown glass exterior, they felt, was characteristic of a commercial high-rise and failed to express the ambience of a first-class hotel.
In such a prime location, surrounded by so many shiny new buildings, how could the hotel best bring out its special character? After several consultations, they decided to drape the building with an overcoat of new marble. "Marble has a thick, stable grandeur about it that accents the building's historical feel and value," the manager says. "At the same time, I insisted on no signs, because as long as the building has character, it serves as a sign in itself."
Soon after the hotel was finished, remodeling work started on the old United Daily News building. Besides being fortified against earthquakes, the building also received a spruced-up new front. "The new design gives the building a feeling of wholeness and a sense of place, strengthening people's image of the newspaper," Charles Lin says.
The Fortune Dragon Hotel and the United Daily News building are examples that made a deep impression. The Hilton Hotel and the First Hotel recently followed along, and exterior remodeling has a bright future indeed. Will it have a beneficial effect on the face of the city as a whole?
"Finding a common architectural idiom for the urban scene has long been a dream of many knowledgeable Taipei residents," C.Y. Lin points out. But Taipei's progress seems like a high-speed printer, rapidly turning out monotonous copies. The public watches new buildings rise up and old ones being torn down. But between all the construction and demolition, what is left? And what is lost?
Looking into the future, we see a tumult of new buildings springing up incorporating glass panels, European spires, Roman columns, and a host of other Western styles and materials, as though each were crying out the words prosperity and fashion. Construction is testimony to urban development.
"In addition to redesigning a building's exterior, architectural remodeling also involves further evaluating the function of the open space around it," said Charles Lin, who explains that the design and use of plazas, covered walkways, and sidewalks all fall within the scope of plan ning. Innovative, flexible utilization can enable people to enjoy an even more comfortable living space.
Multifaceted architectural face-lifting will not only improve the looks of buildings after their unveiling but will also mean a new look for the face of the city.
[Picture Caption]
The Fortune Dragon Hotel acquired a fresh new look by exchanging glass c urtain-walls for a marble exterior.
The United Daily News building was more integral in feeling after remode ling.
The Hilton Hotel replaced some of its solid glass walls with wooden latticework, providing a warm and intimate feeling.
Glass curtain-walls, Roman arches, and post-modern architecture seem eac h to testify to the city's prosperity and progress.
Pursuing a common architectural idiom for the urban scene has long been a dream of Taipei residents.
The Fortune Dragon Hotel acquired a fresh new look by exchanging glass c urtain-walls for a marble exterior.
The Hilton Hotel replaced some of its solid glass walls with wooden latticework, providing a warm and intimate feeling.
Glass curtain-walls, Roman arches, and post-modern architecture seem eac h to testify to the city's prosperity and progress.
Glass curtain-walls, Roman arches, and post-modern architecture seem eac h to testify to the city's prosperity and progress.
Pursuing a common architectural idiom for the urban scene has long been a dream of Taipei residents.
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@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
