Every city exerts it own tactical forces that shapes our attitude towards sex and socializing pattern. The response to these forces are also forcing us to shape our buildings. The visit to central downtown Taipei had revealed similar characteristics and not different from other city in endowing the city with typology of buildings shapes by its own tactics.
As one moves towards the central downtown the high rise commercial districts slowly merges into low rise building with distinct and uncharacteristic compound wall. It is a complete district of such typology and they appear to by quite residential in first glimpse but presence of auto shu
tters on ground floor makes this presumptive ambiguous. The street presence of these building are bare minimum and has single entry point as perhaps as lobby or foyer. The presence of such type makes one wonder the nature of function of these building.
As we were asked to move towards the one of the shop like entry behind the compound wall the body begin to rattle as what would be behind such ambiguous entry. As the attended unrolls the shutter with remote, there it reveals the nicely design the staircase leading to upper floor and he begins to explain the what the whole setting is about.
As one enters the upper floor the sensuous interior of private residential unit slowly appears in controlled natural light scooped from the ceiling and open to sky light shafts. This units are designed as if they are coming out of portfolio of niche interior designer or architects. The lime floor finish with pivoted wall panel to convert unit into various other possibilities. The bed is designed with similar finish with one side touching the small wadding pool which is open to sky and has toilet with part glass cover and shower area overlooking the pool. The fit and finish of entire studio unit appear to be tactile and tectonic.
There are several type of units systematically locked into each other with ambiguous entry point as a part of program. Its like a cube being imploded within its tight perimeter. This units are on rent based on type and size of the units. This type of building are as told to us , cruel urban reality of east. As lifestyle getting hectic, logistics are pushing people to disengage themselves from sex and socializing, perhaps architecture has its own way of response to the such pathological conditions. The units are on rental bases from short stay to longer stay on very high premiums. The most material conditions are used for the most basic & fundamental natural trait yet architecture and urbanity makes it most exotic and niche-able, within which material of materiality is suspended or made it less timeless.
This is the reality of architecture as it only dwells on niche-able, exotic events for it to qualify as experimental yet most basic need and responses are strangely relegated or displaced from architectural etymology.
