The entire area of the park is about 6.6 hectares, of which green area is 14,048.56 square meters. Inside the base, the sidewalk and parking lot are set up continuously with arbors and shrubs. The continuity of the arbors and shrubs has never been cut off by artificial facilities or roads that are longer than 30 meters. The entire ecological network is like a dense microvascular network that provides a mobile passageway for biological living beings. 

Moving our attention from the land to the water, we can see that the architect utilized the existing fish pond terrain and designed natural protective shores with a slope that is smaller than 1:3. In addition, the architecture retains the mixed forest and shrub grassland of the base to avoid interference with the habitat of the original creatures. Furthermore, a stone cage is used to protect the slope from mudslide. The pebbles used to refill the land produce many porous spaces, which serve as a habitat for biological living things.

The national park is located off the shore of the Yanshui creek, and is near the estuary of the sea. Like all the
buildings near the sea, the park must face the challenge of strong winds and salt damage. In order to reduce
the dramatic “wind” like impact of the sea breeze on the park. From the National Park Quarterly 21 Roof layered with drift wood provides a small habitat for birds outermost waterfront embankment, the use of multilayer plantation strengthens soil and water conservation and provides a greening effect. In the ground layer, high salt-resistant plants such as Sesuvium portulacastrum, seashore dropseed grass, and Suaeda nudiflora are used to grasp and hold the sand. The shrub layer is filled with drought-resistant coastal plants such as sea lettuce, Pandanus odoratissimus, glory bower, and hayata. The tree layer includes fragrant pittosporum, linden hibiscus, coconut, and Indian almond; these trees interweave to become a wind wall with seasonal characteristics.

Then, in the waterfront tide area, mangroves were rehabilitated; the types of mangroves added include
Rhizophora stylosa, lumnitzera, and black mangroves. Finally, grasses including reeds were used to build
shallow water grass. According to the results of the wind field analysis, these closely planted and multi-level plants can shield, block the cold winter wind, and guide the summer monsoon to flow into the building complexes. The salt brought to the soil by the sea breeze is cleverly utilized in the local industrial waste, which is oyster shell. The oyster shells serve as the bottom isolation layer (30-50 cm) for the plant, blocking the salt from crystallization at the roots through capillaries of the plants. Therefore, the plants can live more comfortably.

The park also opened up the base of the individual fish ponds and connected the ponds to the adjacent Taiwan River system. Therefore, tidal water is formed to activate the water quality. Not only can this action prevent increased water salinity caused by high evaporation because of the bright sun, in addition, the water can introduce plankton, fish, shrimp, shellfish, and benthic organisms; this allows the ecosystem to become more dynamic and abundant.

Walking and Reading the Humanity and Landscape of the Buildings

After walking through the greens and water surrounding the building, we then walk into the building complex and continue with the wonderful “course”.

"In fact, I did not deliberately let the building to be "like something”. Instead I imagined the entire building
complex as a sandbar or an island”. Ying-Chao Kuo explained. "Then, according to the function of the
space, I integrated the buildings into a settlement. Then I adjusted the height of the buildings based on
the equipment, mainly the elevator. The specific height allowed the buildings the ability to block the north
wind, and to guide the west wind to flow in. Then I followed the local light and wind to cut the surfaces and
finally this process produced the present architectural appearance. The white exterior walls were inspired by
appearance of the buildings in the bright sunny area such as Greece and Turkey. This white exterior wall happens to appear like a hill which immerses and corresponds to  the unique landscape of the local salt producing industry “Rather than what I think, I would like to know how other people think. Buildings should be able to create experience and make people think so they can connect much closer to people.

Following the footsteps of the senior technical specialist, Jiang-Ming Hong and moving between the buildings that are full of exotic ambiance, we can fully feel the sense of local settlement style. “Tainan is best known for its lanes and temple courtyard. Lanes are used to reside and move about whereas temple courtyards
are the centers of the community. Here in Tainan, lanes and water passageways connect the buildings
and lead everyone to the temple courtyard, and then spread out individually. He further explained while
stepping on the red tile like floor. “When you talk about traditional buildings, you would think of the red tile
roof. However, the red tile roof is not suitable here.

The organic nature of the settlement is continued, and the care for ecology is also extended from outside to
inside. One can easily see the structure units of the fence of the bridge and the walls of the building complex are filled with oyster shells. Up on the roof, one can also see a large surface area layered with oyster shells and drift wood. In addition to achieving a thermal insulation effect for the building, these layers also create various sizes of ecological pores for the biological creatures to rest and habitat. This type of usage of industry collecting and natural waste as architectural construction material can reduce carbon emissions produced as a result of transporting waste from the coast and estuary.

In addition, it can also achieve the goal of reducing wasteproducts. Furthermore, the white insulation paint used on the walls is mixed with oyster shell powder. This method thoroughly plays out the concept of ecological reserve and has become an essential example of reusing local waste materials.

As we look back at the past, we also must look to the future. By using the unique window-opening design, the architect also emphasizes the building’s modern style in the building’s traditional space configuration style. “If the building complexes are like salt mountains, then these windows are like the crystallization of salt. The size of these windows varies based on the function of the specific space. Specifically, in the dormitory area, the placement of the outer wall opening and the doors and windows of the inner walls are staggered so the light can be reflected in the corridors. However, the light will not direct heat into the house”. Although these designs come from the wisdom of traditional architecture, the cleverness of the designs demonstrate the contemporary and innovative possibilities.

If Taijiang is a Book

Visitors come to the visitor center with various purposes and they stay at the center for various periods of time. Some visitors come specifically to participate in the activities of the Taijiang Campus. These activities
include experiencing the standing canoe, following the tour guide to explore the wetland ecology, and tracing
humanity and history with the local NGO. These activities are lively and profound. For some visitors, we
must provide an outline form because they need to feel the rich ecology, history, and accumulated industry of
Taijiang within a few hours. Therefore, the visitor center is responsible for the task of being a “reading guide”
for the park; the center opens the first window for the people to take the first taste of Taijiang.

“The visitor center is not a museum; it is like the catalogue of the entire environment of Taijiang.” Senior technical specialist Jiang-Ming Hong stated the status and his expectation of the center while standing right outside the nearly complete visitor center. “When tourists visit the visitor center and head toward other places in Taijiang, they have the opportunity to think of the exhibit and the relevant textual and graphic information. After they incorporate their sensory experiences, they allow Taijiang to become a book that the tourists can sense with content that is constantly being added”.

The exhibit of the first floor of the visitor center shows the image of the Taijiang. Visitors first ride on the
time machine to review the history extending from the 18th century until the present time: the environmental
changes and human development of Taijiang. Then, we entered the highlight of the visitor center, the natural
ecological experience area. “We produced a double size realistic model of Taijiang’s essential wetland
environment so that without bending over, people can observe the hidden wetland ecosystem. As they
raise their heads, they can see the models of migrating birds flying”. Director Wei-Chuan Chang described
the attractive characteristics of the experience area in detail. “This activity is not a gimmick; it allows
visitors to understand ways to observe the diversity of the seemingly ordinary ecology in the environment. The visitors then can become aware that mangroves, lagoons, and salt marsh wetlands contain an extremely rich and unique vitality”.

In the last area, we introduce the promotion process of Taijiang National Park in detail. By discussing the changes of the local nursery fishery, we can look at the conservation process of the black-faced spoonbill. “The conservation and banding of the blackfaced spoonbill is one of the major tasks of the Headquarters.

We hope that the exhibition can incite the visitors’ interests to participate in the Welcoming the Black-faced Spoonbill event in September and the Farewell to the Black-faced Spoonbill event in March”. Director Wei-Chuan Chang stated that after the hardware of the buildings of the administrative and visitor center was completed, the courtyard at the center of the building complex then became an essential section of the activity. For the Farewell to the Black-faced Spoonbill activity this year, the Headquarters set up booths in the courtyard and invited local communities to exhibit and sell their local agricultural products or cultural and creative products. For first hand experiences such as “Summer Night Walk in Taijiang” and “Riding at Taijiang’s Two Towers”, the courtyard is the meeting place before the activities take off. The courtyard definitely plays its function in the tribal settlement.

The function of space has been gradually verified after the opening of the building, such as the vibrant pool
life in the lively courtyard, or the insects and birds entering and leaving the ecological pores. However, the
effect of green building cannot be confirmed yet. We have to wait for the energy monitoring system of the
administrative and visitor center to activate. In addition, accumulated years are required to compare the various data. Then, we can confirm the performance and make improvement. Director Wei-Chuan Chang, who just spent a year with the changes in the four seasons in the administrative center believe that “Green buildings and ecology conservation are both dynamic processes. We must be patient. We take other people’s experiences and use the data model to create Taijiang’s green buildings. Although we must face a the dramatic and extraordinary challenge of climate change, but I think we already have a good foundation to be a representative model.

Additional Information

Adminstrative Center Design Interest

Visitors do not always have the opportunity to visit the administrative center. Please follow our footsteps
to take a look at the unique design inside the administrative center.

About the Author

Yueh-Han Yang Graduated from the Department of Civic Education and Leadership, National Taiwan Normal University. Studying at Graduate Institute of Museum Studies, Taipei National University of the Arts.