Responding to the theme of "Freespace", architects from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao celebrate their horizontal, vertical and mixed cityscapes at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia until Nov 25. Together, the three collateral events highlight their desire to create "free spaces" with specific individual characteristics that match their individual project.

Architect Huang, right, founder of Fieldoffice Architects, guides visitors through Taiwan's Collateral Event at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition on May 25, 2018. [Photo by Dimitri Bruyas]

Taiwan horizontal cityscape 

This is particularly clear in the work of Huang Sheng-Yuan and his team from Fieldoffice Architects, who designed Taiwan's collateral event at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition. The exhibit, curated by professor Wang Chun-Hsiung, highlights the true sense of community resulting from the intimate connection between residents and their living environment in Yilan county. 

Living with Sky, Water and Mountain: Making Places in Yilan also echoes the singularity of Taiwan architecture on the international stage. Huang said he believes that architecture should reinforce our "sense of the real and the poetics of reality, and consequently, give us an existential foothold in space, time and the continuum of culture." 

Architecture should not only expand "the realm of the new, but also reinforce the presence of Taiwanese traditions and the timeless qualities of buildings at large," Huang said. This fundamental starting point for thinking about architecture shows his concern with residents' desires, starting from the planning to the completion of every project. It further highlights his vision of a more horizontal cityscape in which architecture is used as a medium for increasing communication within the community.