Wang believes it’s essential that a space cater to the needs of its users while taking environmental factors into account. For this reason, she is known for utilizing features such as strategically placed windows and skylights to enhance natural light and ventilation systems drawing outside air to cool buildings without the need for air conditioning.
According to Shyu Ming-song, assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at Ming Chuan University in Taipei City, Wang is responsible for designing one of the earliest examples of green architecture in Taiwan: the building that now hosts the Institute of American and European Studies at Taipei-based Academia Sinica. Its double-layer walls and floors greatly reduce indoor heat and humidity, essential to making the space comfortable for users given the country’s hot climate.
The Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York is one of the best-known U.S. buildings Wang has worked on. (Courtesy of Wang Chiu-hwa)
When it comes to developing the philosophy that would shape her career, Wang owes much to renowned Jewish architect and urban planner Percival Goodman, whom she studied under while obtaining her master’s degree at Columbia University in New York City in 1949. The two shared a conviction that architects have a social responsibility to fulfill, leading to a long and fruitful professional relationship in which Wang worked her way up from mentee to full partner at Goodman’s company.
“In Goodman’s firm, Wang didn’t need to chase fame by creating novel designs,” said Shyu. “She could focus on what mattered to her—the social aspect of architecture and the harmony between buildings and their surroundings.”
After nearly 30 years of working with Goodman in the U.S., Wang relocated in 1979 to Taipei, where she started a decadeslong cooperative relationship with JJ Pan and Partners founded by Joshua Jih Pan. Together they embarked on a project that would elevate Wang’s prominence: Chang Ching Yu Memorial Library of Chung Yuan Christian University in the northern city of Taoyuan.
“The plans were groundbreaking at the time because open-stack libraries didn’t exist in Taiwan,” Wang said. Chung Yuan’s patrons could walk into the stacks and directly browse the books, making it the first modern library in the country when it began operating in 1985, she added.
“Whatever project Wang works on, she’s meticulous about details that contribute to making a space comfortable,” said Chiang Chien-ping, a former project manager at JJ Pan. “Unlike many architects, she doesn’t have a huge ego. She actively communicates with users to find out their need rather than unilaterally dictating how a space should be.”
Wang’s legacy also inspires those concerned by the gender imbalance in the industry, such as central Taiwan-based architect Chiang Le-ching. “In the male-dominated world of architecture, women’s stories don’t receive due attention and their works don’t get the credit they deserve. The fact that Wang has won a national award is a huge encouragement for me and all women architects,” she said.
Libraries feature prominently in Wang’s portfolio, including the National Chung Cheng University in the southern county of Chiayi. (Courtesy of Wang Chiu-hwa)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
(This article is adapted from “Form and Function” in the May/June 2020
issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)