Heteroglossic Asia: The Transformation of Urban Taiwan

187 Pages·2015·8.995 MB·English

by  Francis Chia-Hui Lin

Heteroglossic Asia
Heteroglossic Asia presents an analysis of geographical, historical, cultural,
economic, spatial and political factors underlying Taiwan’s maritime urban-
ity by means of case studies based on Taipei and Kaohsiung: two cities which
represent the multi-accentual character of Taiwan’s urban environment and
its recent changes and development through architecture.
Focusing on the concept of a heteroglossic Asia Pacific, exemplified
by the analysis of Taiwan’s urban transformation, the study argues that
Taiwan’s urban environment shows a form of intended ‘fuzziness’ which
cannot be described as resting on either a simplified nationalist base or cha-
otic societal anxiety. Rather, this form lies between binary poles: autocracy
and democracy, nation state and day-to-day life, top-down and bottom-up
orientations, orthodoxy and hybridisation.
Francis Chia-Hui, PhD, is a Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Building
& Design at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. His areas of expertise lie in the
critical discourse on the practice and profession of architecture and urban-
ism within a wider context of history and theory. Francis’s research and
teaching interests include the Asia Pacific region, architectural and urban
history, theory, art theory, architectural and urban design, (post)colonial-
ism, the humanities and cultural history.
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design
Series editor: Peter Ache
Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design is a series of academic
monographs for scholars working in these disciplines and the overlaps
between them. Building on Routledge’s history of academic rigour and cutting-
edge research, the series contributes to the rapidly expanding literature in all
areas of planning and urban design.
Brand-Driven City Building and the Virtualizing of Space
Alexander Gutzmer
Deconstructing Placemaking
Mahyar Arefi
The Empty Place
Democracy and public space
Teresa Hoskyns
Dealing with Deindustrialization
Adaptive resilience in American Midwestern regions
Margaret Cowell
Public Space and Relational Perspectives
New challenges for architecture and planning
Chiara Tornaghi and Sabine Knierbein
Heteroglossic Asia
The transformation of urban Taiwan
Francis Chia-Hui Lin
Heteroglossic Asia
The transformation of urban Taiwan
Francis Chia-Hui Lin
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2015 Francis Chia-Hui Lin
The right of Francis Chia-Hui Lin to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with sections 77
and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lin, Francis Chia-Hui.
Heteroglossic Asia: the transformation of urban Taiwan/Francis
Chia-Hui Lin.
pages cm. — (Research in planning and urban design)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Urbanization—Taiwan. 2. City planning—Taiwan.
3. Architecture—Taiwan. I. Title.
HT147.T3L54 2015
307.1′2160951249—dc23
2014031123
ISBN: 978-1-138-80093-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-75519-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
This book is dedicated to my family for years of support
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Contents
List of figures ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
A note on Romanisation xv
Introduction: heteroglossia in the Asia Pacific 1
1 A quasi-colonial context: an imprint of decolonisation 14
2 Hong Kong: becoming culture 28
3 Singapore: speaking culture 35
4 Taiwan: in-between culture 40
5 When the otherness becomes selfness:
urban Taiwan’s transformation 62
6 Theorising urban architecture for the Asia Pacific 94
7 A paradigm of the contemporary urban Asia Pacific 113
Conclusion: acculturating the contemporary
urban Asia Pacific 146
Glossary 156
Bibliography 162
Index 167
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Figures
1.1 An analytical model of the post-war cultural politics
between Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan 16
1.2 Hung Kuo Building, Taipei, Taiwan 22
4.1 The Grand Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan, 2014 46
4.2 A metering model of post-war Taiwan society 47
4.3 The transition of geographic identification in
post-war Taiwan 53
4.4 A typical Washitsu in contemporary Taiwanese
architecture, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2014 54
4.5 A typical Minnan style house, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2014 55
4.6 The typical form of Taiwan’s traditional Minnan
style house 56
4.7 The typical core family place in a modern Taiwanese
house. Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2014 56
5.1 The plan, façade and section of the Octagon Building
before the fire 65
5.2 The buttresses of the Red House 66
5.3 The horizontal bands and keystones of the
Octagon Building 67
5.4 The pediments and dormer windows of the
Octagon Building 67
5.5 The North Gate, Taipei, Taiwan, 2014 70
5.6 The ‘miniature of the ROC (including today’s
Mongolia)’ imagery 72
5.7 The reconstructed Shinto shrine at the Red House,
Taipei, Taiwan, 2014 73
5.8 The old Kaohsiung Main Station, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2014 83
5.9 The old Kaohsiung City Hall, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2014; the
former Taipei Broadcasting Bureau building, Taipei,
Taiwan, 2014 84
5.10 The plans and façades of the old Kaohsiung City Hall 85
5.11 The portico of the old Kaohsiung City Hall, Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, 2014 86