HEITO 1909

The Heito 1909 project transformed Taiwan's historical sugar factory into a public gathering place,  reimagined the wasteland barrier that struck a decade ago, and integrated community resources around the city. Significantly, the park provided people a place to engage in quality natural environments within a metropolitan city. This preservation and adaptive reuse of ruins into the landscape is the first and only in Taiwan. The unique design creatively incorporates the ruins and damaged structures into the urban facility for people to experience.

In Taiwan, where adaptive reuse is not popular, there are gaps in our history because historical buildings were simply demolished instead of used as sources of inspiration. With Heito, a tiny portion of the era was saved through the inspiration of its excavated historical structures. The design endeavored to recover and identify each remaining structure.

An underground factory and five Waste water basin are found in the park, the foundation of the structure are intact, create a typology challenge to adaptive into public facility.  different type of pavilions are created, interpretations history of Heito, a time of exploration and agriculture.

Before the paper factories was built, the snake creek was a natural creek in people’s memories .It was cut straight and civil engineering it into a concrete ditch, for disposal industrial waste water, the chemical by the factories created an unbearable stench.To open the waterfront close to the public, need to create several water purification systems upstream. 0.5 hectares of land grading into the slope, seasonal flood can happen, and create wetland for natural restoration, also create open space for public activities.

This project major work is to research and find out the potential, existing structure as a starting point provide a story to play with. Rather than obsessing with iconic buildings, by modifying the existing structure into different function, create a deduction way of the design process, to create a new possibility and outcome.