NOOK | FAHR 021.3

The site of intervention is an old train station deactivated for more than a decade in the city of Taitung, Taiwan. The station played an important role in the growth of the region, leaving an empty space when it was abandoned. As part of the local government’s effort to reactivate this area of the city, the idea is to transform the station into a cultural space, flexible and for all.

In the studio we believe that this type of voids present the opportunity to generate new uses and, given the sense of appropriation of the citizens, we think that it made sense to design a free space without function available for different ways of being. A space for nothing is actually a place where everything can happen, that promotes reflection and a new beginning, a space of freedom, uncoded, individual and collective.

The form is the result of an intention of simplicity translated into a huge translucent white cube of 8 x 8 x 8m, where a lower corner rises in the air and marks the moment of incursion to the interior. Through a light gesture we tried to dismantle the weight and scale of the form, as if we wanted to see underneath the cloth.

The interior is a room in the exterior, four walls that stand and make us turn our eyes to the sky. It is an unfinished place, an extension of the park and the garden. A place where you can be alone or in a group, a room for an exhibition, a music concert,meditation or even playing arround surrounded by fog or light, a space for everyone. A challenge to spontaneity and appropriation of the public space.

Project Info:

design firm: fahr 021.3

team: hugo reis, filipa frois almeida, catarina azevedo, sérgio marafona, lena breitenborn

curator: artfield / huichen wu

engineering: po-tao cheung

construction: shen mao green house

gardening: lian xin nursery garden

client: taitung design center

photography: yuchen chao

location: taitung, taiwan

built: 2018