People move toward cities, and this will become more and more obvious with the advancement of technology. Cities in the future will be highly technological, while “artificial intelligence” and “green energy and environmental protection” will be the two primary axes for urban development. Cities will be filled with driverless cars, electric cars will replace automobiles, air will no longer be polluted, no more worrying about parking, and industrial and agricultural areas outside cities will not require many workers; however, people will only be living in cities, because the development in technology has made their lives more convenient, healthier and happier… Lands outside cities can be protected and sustained! Therefore, technology must construct cities, and the objective of technological development must be achieved by serving people through architecture.
Advantages / convenience, medical treatment, safety
At the present stage, people are living in cities for several reasons: food, clothing, accommodation, transportation, education and entertainment… In addition, Taiwan has received good appraisals worldwide in the aspects of convenience of life, medical treatment, safety and friendliness, and it has always been one of the top cities listed as world’s most livable cities!
The reasons that there is a chance for development of exquisite architecture (interior design) in Taiwan:
- Short construction cycles
- High density of urban population
- High house ownership rate
- Strong creativity of construction and design industries
- High engineering quality, relatively low wage
- Inexpensive raw materials, relatively small houses and high house prices, easier to develop elaboration
We believe…
Construct building with interior – to be able to define space
Build interior with architecture – to be able to create space
Interior is the “point”
Building is the “line”
City is the “plane”
Thus, a high grade city can only be created by well executed points, lines and planes!
Disadvantages / dilemmas of urban renewal
Dilemmas and opportunities of urban renewal in Taipei
Dilemmas and opportunities of Kaohsiung / problem solving / creation of business opportunities for urban land
Designing values problem solving first
For every construction project, what we take into account is not the data calculated by the market; for example, putting faith blindly in market surveys or popular trends and strengthen the control over architectural positioning, how many pings and rooms would be easy to sell… more pings when the economy is prosperous and less when it is in a slump… etc. We consider land suitability based on local conditions, use designing to resolve disadvantages in landforms and features, and examine regional traits; we also create the land’s advantages and potentials, as well as avoid disadvantages and defects; landforms and construction plans are like they are inherent and closely linked. Because…
Architectural design is like a “mathematical problem”
An urban land does not have a standard plan, like a mathematical problem does not have a standard answer; we must use flexible problem solving skills to break through the various conditions of geometric shapes, laws, climate and environment of a site.
Architectural design is like an “article”
Collocation of words form meaningful articles; arrangement of construction plans form beautiful spaces.
Architectural design is like a “musical score”
Architecture allows people feel the “invisible” “poetic grace” and see the beauty of buildings; music forms “visible” musical scores into gracious melodies for people to feel the presence of music.
How to deal with small sites or irregular landforms in cities
We believe the motivation of building houses is in urban areas; choose urban land with old houses that have strong residential demands, regardless of the site size, aspect ratio or narrow roads…
During the initial planning, we analyzed in detail the relations between land conditions, laws and regulations, shape, adjacent houses and the environment, tried to see land and plan, as well as construction and interior design, as an inseparable designing problem, grasped precisely the regulatory limitations, structural systems and electromechanical systems, and introduced construction management systems and design and engineering interfaces for discussion on the subtle relations. The team of Ming Sen Architects is very suitable for such a challenge; solving urban land problems through “design orientation” is the way to bring new life and new opportunities to cities.