If you walk along Wende Road in Taipei’s Neihu District, somewhere between Wende and Neihu MRT stations, you might chance upon a curious looking arched brick doorway with a sign outside for the Guo Family Estate.
If you decide to take a look, you have to walk up a pretty steep staircase to get to the main grounds of this old building. You might just feel that the walk is worth it. You don’t see many buildings like this one in Taipei.
The Guo Family Estate was originally the residence of the Guo family, including a Naiko (the Japanese for Neihu) Village mayor, during the Japanese colonial period. The residence, also known as the “Red House of Neihu,” was built in around the sixth year of the Japanese Taisho period, or 1917, and was built on the north side, facing south.
Photos: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
The building was constructed using fir from Fuzhou and cypress and cedar from Taiwan. The outside mixed architectural elements such as red brick, washed terrazzo, earthenware statues, and painted tiles imported from Japan, complemented with Baroque-style decoration. The floor plan is in a T-shape, the main building having a wing to either side. Seen from the front, the building is symmetrical, and has a mixture of Western floral decor and traditional Chinese auspicious motifs, together with painted tiles and round arch and pointed arch windows. On the second floor, there is a curved balcony.
In June, 1999, the building was designated as a municipality-level historic site; on June 1, 2010, renovations on the building began, and these were completed on Jan 5, 2012.
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
如果你在台北市內湖區沿著文德路走，到了捷運文德站和內湖站之間，應會發現一座稀奇的磚頭拱門，門口有個牌子寫著「郭氏古宅」。
若想一探究竟，必須先爬一段頗為陡峭的樓梯，才能抵達這座古宅所在之處。爬這段路應該是很值得的，畢竟這類建築在台北並不多見。
內湖郭氏古宅原為內湖在日據時期庄長郭氏的宅邸，又稱「內湖紅樓」。這棟古宅約建於日大正六年，也就是西元一九一七年。
建築坐北朝南，建材使用福州杉、檜木、肖楠，外觀融合紅磚，洗石子，泥塑與日本進口的彩色瓷磚裝飾等元素，搭配巴洛克式繁飾。平面為「凸」字形，左右各突出兩層樓房間。正面對稱，融合西方花草紋樣與中式傳統吉祥圖案，還有彩色瓷磚裝飾以及圓拱、尖拱窗。二樓突出弧狀陽臺。
一九九九年六月指定為直轄市定古蹟，二○一○年六月一日修建工程啟動，二○一二年一月五日完工。（台北時報記者古德謙整理）
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