Premier William Lai (賴清德) last month announced that the government would commit part of NT$6 billion (US$205.26 million) to screen and improve the quake-resistance of existing buildings. While safety is undoubtedly the No. 1 criterion when retrofitting buildings, the government should also consider assessing and managing historic buildings by applying the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (文化資產保存法) across Taiwan.
A thorough historic building assessment includes examination of the physical and visual conditions, alteration identifications, defects and perspicuous documentation. This could reveal building failures and design deficiencies, but could also help discover potential merits.
A good assessment helps the authorities and stakeholders come up with an inclusive management strategy for building regeneration that strikes a balance between cultural and economic considerations. The profits in return could pay the cost of conservation and repair.
In the UK, for example, a heritage architect’s job includes recording the historic buildings’ merits for future generations, as well as maintaining and designing spaces for their best use.
There are also public and private organizations such as Historic England and the National Trust that take care of a country’s historic built environment. They conduct thorough assessments, diagnose building failures and produce detailed records. They also encourage the public to celebrate the spectacular historic environment and make the best use of it.
There are many ways in which historic buildings can contribute greatly to local culture and identity, help with corporate branding and benefit the local economy.
In a report published by Historic England last year, one-fifth of the surveyed listed residential properties were running commercial activities, such as offices, event and retail spaces, cafes and accommodation. Many historic institutional buildings, such as cathedrals, also try to generate profit by running cafes or renting out space for other uses.
In the UK, there are regulations that would allow conservation as a trade-off for urban development during planning procedure agreements.
It is widely understood in Taiwan that historic building conservation is essential to cultural heritage. In a report published in August last year, the Ministry of Culture’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage listed 1,333 historic buildings in the country.
It is always a challenge to fund heritage projects. For example, restoring barracks at a Japanese-era military airport in Pingtung County is to cost NT$1 billion and would require the county to hire more staff to manage the property.
The public should know not only the why of historic building conservation, but also the how. There are always better methods than to demolish or burn down a structure, which not only destroys a heritage building, but also squanders potential benefits for cultural heritage and property development.
Taiwan already has several good examples — such as Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park — of how historic buildings could help revive a community and attract public attention to cultural heritage.
A better nationwide assessment and management strategy could improve risk resilience and the built environment, killing two birds with one stone.
Ng Ming Shan is a LEED AP and registered architect in the UK and Switzerland, and she holds master’s degrees in architecture and building history from ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge. Chen Kuan-Yu is a registered architect in the UK. Born in Taiwan and raised in Europe, he has more than 15 years of experience in architecture.
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