Taiwan Today

Taipei and several other major metropolitan areas in Taiwan are experiencing a boomtown atmosphere. The island’s population is growing in size and becoming more concentrated in urban areas, and new residential developments, office buildings, and public works projects are being put up to meet their needs. It’s a great time for developers, contractors, engineers, and archi­tects to make big money.

The number and complexity of these projects is well-known abroad, and many foreign or foreign-educated architects and construction project consultants from the United States, Japan, and elsewhere are now tapping into the market. A large por­tion of these are overseas Chinese and lo­cal talent who have previously worked abroad. Currently, the fusion between lo­cal and foreign professionals is primarily project-based, but temporary cooperation has become a standard way of working, especially over the last five years. The result is a mixed professional environment, one characterized by increasing contacts and transfer of technological expertise, but also by confusion and frustration.

Yet the stakes are high. Beyond the promise of profits is the question of what the results will look like. Will Taipei and the island’s other cities continue to be in­distinguishable from crowded metropoli­tan areas elsewhere, or will a recognizable local style eventually emerge? The an­swer isn’t in yet. Meanwhile, overseas consultants continue to have an impact on construction sites throughout the island.

“Foreign architects are in demand,” says Chiang Ren-wei (姜人偉), an archi­tect and partner at Fei & Cheng Associates. “Sometimes developers hire them in order to borrow their name as a way of embellishing the image of their enter­prise,” he says, “and sometimes local ar­chitects just want foreigners’ names on their proposals because it makes their plans more attractive to developers. But in many other cases, foreign architects are indispensable for complicated structures such as railway stations, hospitals, and museums.”

In fact, all major construction projects require a thorough integration of the pro­fessional skills offered by a number of ar­chitects, contractors, and engineers. Yet, a foreign consultant’s involvement in any given project differs according to its scale and the level of quality demanded by the owners. “Overseas consultants are often needed for projects with special func­tional requirements,” says architect Joshua Jih Pan (潘冀), who formerly practiced in the United States. He points out that a complex project such as a sealife museum and aquarium could involve a team of foreign experts. “You would need experienced architects to do initial consulting, exhibit design and life-support systems,” he says.

For example, architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), an American architec­tural firm, did most of the schematic design and design development for the Fubon Banking center in Taipei, to be completed later this year. “The more foreign architects are involved, the higher the architectural fees soar,” says Sun Chung-yi (孫崇逸), who was project architect for Fubon and SOM’s Taipei representative and now works with J.J. Pan & Partners.

Foreign specialists are gener­ally not hired for residential and office building projects, except to provide sche­matic designs. “They provide the basic idea and layout; the rest of the work, in­cluding design development and con­struction drawing, is done by local architects,” says Chung Wen-cheng (鍾文正), who spent eleven years with a large architectural company in the United States before returning to open his own firm in Taipei. “Assistance from foreign experts can be limited as well because they have little experience with our weather patterns, geology, construction quality, and client expectations,” he says.

But foreign architects, engineers, and other construction specialists have much to offer. They can bring substantial expe­rience, imagination, and creativity to a proposed project. And oftentimes they need stay in Taiwan for only a brief time, saving costs. “Foreign architects can do schematic design work after two or three trips to Taiwan,” Chung says. It is impos­sible, however, for foreign consultants to work alone on any design. “Most of them know virtually nothing about our building codes,” Sun Chung-yi says. “They have to depend on their counterparts here to in­vestigate and analyze the codes, the avail­able construction materials, and the quality of construction done by local companies.” In addition, only architects licensed in Taiwan are entitled to apply for building permits.

Despite the backup, foreigners still find Taiwan’s building codes con­fusing. The logic behind some of the rules is frequently different from, and more rigid than, what is found in the United States. For example, Sun points out, the local building code sti­pulates that all emergency doors should be at least 120 centimeters wide. But in the States, the width varies according to the planned use and the number of people expected to occupy the build­ing. “Instead of setting a rigid regulation covering all cases, Americans are more reasonable,” he says.

Another continuing problem exists between architectural expectations and construction company performance. Lo­cal architectural designs of load-bearing elements, such as foundations, beams, and pillars, often exceed on purpose the load regulations defined in the building codes in order to compensate for poor construction quality. The degree of com­pensation depends on the type of building, the reputation of the construction company, and other factors. “Once we cooperated with Swedish ar­chitects in an industrial district project,” Chiang Ren-wei says. “They couldn’t understand why we had to paint and face enamel tiles after they were already mounted and grouted on the in­side of a reservoir. They didn’t know that we had to compensate for construction standards, oth­erwise the reservoir would have seepage problems.”

One of the most challeng­ing requirements for foreign architects is the expected pace of work. “Developers usually ex­pect architects to finish every­thing in three to six months,” Sun Chung-yi says. “For most jobs in the States, it takes at least two years to complete all the steps between schematic de­signs and the final construction drawings.” Quality of results is therefore sacrificed for speed.

“Because design is done quickly and without thorough checking, many problems are encountered in the actual course of construc­tion,” says C.Q. Lee (李宗焜), planning manager at Taiwan Kumagai Co., the Japanese joint-venture contractor that built the Shin Kong Life Tower, Taipei’s tallest building. Behind all the pressure for speed is a simple fact: the faster developers and construction companies can put up a building, the sooner they can start on another project­ and make more money.

In some cases, speedy design and construction are possible and less objec­tionable because the building is minimalist in both exterior and inte­rior design. The owners just want a safe and dry place to work or to sell things; appearance isn’t a major con­sideration. The many factories and hypermarkets un­der construction in Taipei county and elsewhere are prime examples. Even for­eign investors are surprised at the results. “The Dutch manager of Makro hypermar­kets and a German company putting up a new chemical plant were both quite sur­prised that the projects moved along so rapidly,” Joshua Pan says. “Even if the quality of the results was not as good as they had hoped, from the viewpoint of making profits, foreign entrepreneurs are usually pleased to open for business ahead of schedule.”

Foreign architects can also find it dif­ficult to adjust to the way they are paid for their services. Developers usually pay them just before applying for a building permit, when the construction drawing, the last phase of architectural design, is almost finished. “In the United States, ar­chitects are paid every two months but in Taiwan, architects generally have to sup­port their current work with the money they received from their proceeding project,” says Wu Tsung-yueh (吳宗鉞), an architect with Fei & Cheng.

Other problems arise from a difference in culture. “We sometimes have customers who are obsessed with geomancy,” says Wu Kun-hsin (吳坤興), vice general manager of the Taipei office of KMG (Kaku Morin Group), Architects & Engi­neers of Japan, the designers of the Shin Kong Tower. “If they ask us to do unrea­sonable modifications on our working drawings, we do our best to dissuade them,” he says. Joshua Pan urges flexibil­ity. “When it concerns money,” he says, “almost all developers believe in geomancy, so I just follow their requests and let them put up with the results.”

Customs also influence aesthetic de­mands. “Developers have trouble accept­ing asymmetric lines, and they prefer warm colors, and especially detest black,” says Yasunori Arai, a Japanese architect at KMG. “Here, the appearance always takes precedence over the practicality of a building,” he says. “Developers only care if the building looks fancy.”

Compared with their Taiwan counterparts, Americans work in a more differentiated construction environment, one in which specialized knowledge and experi­ence can help land specialized, high­-paying jobs. “In Taiwan, the design fee for architects is low, which makes it im­possible for an elaborate division of re­sponsibility,” says Wu Kun-hsin. The relatively recent opportunity to handle complex construction contracts helped slow the sophistication of construction-re­lated professions.

“Over the last twenty years, there has been a massive amount of construc­tion,” says Steve H.L. Wang (王祥騮), a manager at Moh and Associates, Con­sulting Engineers. “But look at Western countries. Large-scale construction has been going for two hundred years. They have already accumulated a great deal of experience and have systemized work procedures.” Wang says some local ar­chitects and engineers have achieved in­ternational standards, but on the whole, most lack the experience to coordinate architectural design and engineering re­quirements.

Nevertheless, good opportunities for productive cooperation can be lost be­cause the local talent can be unjustly ig­nored. “Many times, foreign architects and consultants have been hired for pub­lic works projects and then were asked to handle everything,” says Joshua Pan. “But if they weren’t familiar with our cul­ture, the history of the area, and other im­portant factors, they merely transplanted their designs to Taiwan.” One example is the huge National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei. “Local architects weren’t asked to help with planning until it was halfway done,” Pan says. “When we noticed that the plan was made only from the perspective of establishing a hos­pital, without considering surrounding historical buildings like the Chingfu City Gate and the presidential office building, it was too late. The foreign consultant contract was already fixed and no changes were possible.” Pan, who was involved in the master plan stage, resigned in protest.

Along with the island’s construction boom, more local architects are searching for a definitive style, one that makes Taiwan stand out. Wang Chung-ping (王重平), a partner at C.Y. Lee & Part­ners, Architects & Planners, asks a tough basic question: “Who’s the leader? Actu­ally, Westerners have their own cultural background and living habits, and these are different from ours,” he says. “But our architecture looks more and more like for­eign architecture and our own cultural identity becomes more and more ob­scure.” Chung Wen-cheng says much the same thing, pointing out that designs by foreign architects often don’t fit the environment.

Nevertheless, one positive dimen­sion of joint ventures with foreign archi­tects and consultants is the immediate transfer of technology and experience. In the near term, foreign input at least brings about useful ends. “The most direct advantage of working with for­eigners is the tech­nology transfer, such as the special­ized knowledge required for ‘intel­ligent’ high-rise buildings,” says Wu Kun-hsin. For­eign talent can also help stimulate greater professionalism, says Wang Chung-ping. “Their participa­tion creates competition,” he says. “Our architects can compare their work with that done by their foreign counterparts, and this pushes them to make progress.” In fact, more local professionals and firms are specializing in specific functional ele­ments. “More firms are able to handle such areas as lighting and acoustics,” says Ray Y. Lee (李瑞鈺), an architect at Fei & Cheng. In many cases, their skills were refined through their cooperative experi­ence with foreign firms.

Changes in management are also be­coming more evident. “The American style of identifying clear phases of project development and having an elaborate division of responsibility is gradually becoming appreciated by our developers,” Wang says. “This is espe­cially true of the construction manage­ment center, which helps developers oversee construction.”

Overall, Taiwan’s architects appear optimistic about cooperating with foreign partners and the trend is expected to con­tinue. “Taiwan’s architects have always been receptive to foreign input on tech­nology and style,” says Ray Lee. He also emphasizes that developers should be more attentive to what overseas architects and other consultants can offer: “They can introduce a broader vision of how build­ings function and how they can best serve human needs and expectations.”