Firm： Department of Public Works, Taoyuan

Type： Cultural › Memorial Landscape + Planning › Public Park Playground Urban Green Space

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2021

SIZE： 300,000 sqft - 500,000 sqft

BUDGET： $10M - 50M

1895 War Memorial Park on Youtube:

The "1895 War Memorial Park" project is a 4.5-hectare urban park in Taoyuan City that aims to commemorate and showcase the forgotten local war history while transforming unused open spaces into an innovative park that caters to the needs of the overpopulated city.

The park was previously a combination of a former cemetery yard on the eastern side and an unanticipated community park on the western side, separated by a collector road. A concrete edge canal running along the perimeter of both lands acted as a man-made barrier, preventing access to the park and isolating open spaces from the surrounding neighborhoods and school.

To address these issues, a circular "Yi-Wei Ring" has been installed, serving as both a memorial and an elevated footbridge that allows pedestrians to move freely between the separate spaces. This mitigates the impact of the collector road, provides a user-friendly alternative route, and unifies the site as a whole.

On the East Site, water from the existing canal has been channeled into the park, creating an ecological diversion that attracts insects and birds and provides opportunities for citizens to engage with nature. The West Site, adjacent to dense neighborhood housing, has been designed with activity platforms on the canal and rebuilt paths on both sides to improve accessibility to the park. These adaptive environmental design moves have softened the originally undesirable borders and converted the rundown neighborhood back-lane and concrete school-side passage into welcoming spaces. The canal now invites the public to engage with the park and reinforces the relationship between the school, the neighborhoods, and the park.

To alleviate parking issues in the area, a parking garage has been constructed under the park. This underground structure is designed with a continuous linear ventilation shaft and light wells that allow for natural ventilation and lighting. Visitors can appreciate their surroundings from the moment they arrive on the lower level. The Memorial Park experience begins with a visit to the lower level curatorial space, showcasing the local war history and paying tribute to the soldiers. Visitors ascend the stairs of the center light well and emerge from the reflective pool in the heart of the serene memorial space. The experience culminates with a walk through the monument walls, leading to the park's lush greenery, where the sounds of children's laughter add to the peaceful ambiance.

The park design thoughtfully incorporates the existing topography, preserving the lush shade trees, integrating natural infiltration and retention seating areas, and interweaving a variety of play circles, such as hilly slides, sunken sandpits, and fitness and game areas. This approach seamlessly blends the natural landscape and recreational elements to create an inclusive and versatile space that accommodates people of all ages.

The revitalization process has turned a NIMBY (not in my backyard) land into a local attraction. The park design redefines the unused open spaces, brings attention to a forgotten piece of local history, constructs a landmark for remembrance, and nurtures a new urban center filled with laughter and collective memories.