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A Restoration Project Giving Tamsui a New, More Inviting Facade

Date 2019-02-27 4470 Clicks

To better care for the broader Tamsui community, Tamkang University has implemented and continually promotes the University Social Responsibility (USR) project. One of the current initiatives in place under the USR project is the Tamsui Better Lifestyle project, which is a continuation of the various projects launched throughout the World Heritage and Community Design Workshop that took place during the 2018 summer vacation. After a discussion held between Tamsui residents and TKU students, and led by Assoc. Prof. Huang Jui-Mao, Department of Architecture, the community collectively decided that the first spot to be restored would be the steep pathway leading down from Chongjian St to the Tamsui Red Castle. The restoration project was to last for ten days, from Jan 14 to 23, 2019, and would be carried out as part of a workshop.

One of the ramshackle, traditional-style houses on the steep part of Chongjian St formed the focal point for the initial restorative effort. TKU student volunteers and local Tamsui citizens rolled up their sleeves and cleared out piles of rubbish, sorted bricks and rubble for recycling, and tidied and spruced up the plants, transforming it into a clean and orderly space. Apart from just “clearing up the mess”, students also helped to redesign the space, injecting their own unique artistic touch and mixing the new with the old.

During the process of restoration, a wide variety of curious passersby stopped and observed, including residents walking their dogs, elderly ladies holding baskets full of vegetables, and foreign tourists. The President of the Society for the Advancement of Tamsui Culture, Li Shu-fen, stated that after the renovation work, heritage-listed Chongjian St looks completely different, offering much wider, uninhibited views of the river.

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