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waterfront industrial redevelopment +
waterfront industrial redevelopment +
NEW central business district
NEW central business district
| Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| Kaohsiung, Taiwan
This project involved a series of studies for the redevelopment of about 600 hectares of industrial area near a major port in this city in Taiwan.
The port of Kaohsiung is the city’s major asset, and the site of much of its daily activity. It is important to recognize the unique nature of this asset: to educate people about it, and indeed, to celebrate it. Although the primarily industrial land uses associated with the port are not always very pretty, there is beauty in the kinetic nature of the activity: everyone and everything is always on the move, twenty four hours a day. It can be fascinating to watch, and when it is lit up at night, it can be very attractive (witness Hong Kong).
The CBD had previously shifted away from the congested and polluted waterfront. As a result, the city is quite spread out, and there are a number of “sub-centers”, connected by ring roads and transit (similar to Tokyo). The newest and largest of these commercial/business areas lies directly north of the site.
As land prices rise and development pressure increases, it is expected that centrally located industrial land will continue to transition to commercial development (industrial facilities have been moving south where there is a greater amount of land and traffic is less of a problem).
The government recognized this trend and sought to guide the process towards a more comprehensive and planned environment, with the kind of public amenities that characterize other, world-class cities. It also sought to re-connect the city with its busy and visually active waterfront, once the industrial uses have been re-located. Major issues related to land use, density, open space distribution, waterfront activities, traffic circulation, and the future skyline were all reviewed.
Originally the government had hired Haigo Shen planners simply to determine the size of the roads, re-parcelize the land with a more fine grain grid, and develop a phasing strategy. Essentially, a very conservative approach which built upon the existing fabric and did not try to do anything radical. Later, they went on to hold an “international design competition" for which the submittals were very ambitious, or unrealistic, depending on your point of view. Some required extensive landfill, others completely redefined the city fabric with diagonals, new artificial waterways, etc. In the end, all of this was seen as a waste of time, and the city came back and asked Haigo Shen to develop a more detailed set of designs and guidelines for the more conservative scheme. These images depict some of the explorations undertaken as part of that work. They were some of the first visualizations of the plan for the area, which has gone through many interations over the last 25 years.
Significant industrial uses have been relocated and portions of the plan have been implemented, such as the light rail transit, waterfront open spaces, civic buildings (main public library, convention/exhibition center, government offices), entertainment/hospitality (museums, theaters, hotels), and retail uses (multiple shopping malls, waterfront restaurants).
Originally called the "Multifunctional Commerce and Trade Park", the project has now been rebranded as "Asia New Bay Area" (click for more info) and is pursuing a tech-led office and "smart city" approach, although portions of it will remain industrial and trade/transport related. There are limitations on uses for some portions of the land given prior industrial use and environmental contamination.
Role: Brian Jennett led the design and production for this effort while working as an Urban Planner and Designer in Taiwan. The perspectives represent the very early days of three-dimensional computer drawings (late 1990s).
Key Facts:
A planned redevelopment of industrial land into a new central business district with the full range of uses, and a new waterfront destination catering to both locals and tourists.
600 hectares (6 sq km, or 2.3 sq miles)
Still a work in progress, the project is about 25% complete after a period of 25 years.
Industrial uses have largely been relocated and the major infrastructure is now complete. A new light rail line is now operating through the site in anticipation of further development.
Completed to date: A major tourist zone with museums, hotels, a convention/exhibition center, a cruise terminal, new parks, an arts district, and other attractions. The future commercial business district now has the largest shopping mall in Taiwan as well as branches of IKEA, Costco, and Carrefour. Major new HQ projects for HonHai and Nvidia have been proposed as part of the Tech Park, which is already in operation.
Brian Jennett led the design/planning of this project back in 1998-1999 while employed as an Urban Planner/Designer at Haigo Shen International Engineering Consultants (a large Taiwanese planning/design firm)
Implementation of the plan (originally created in 1999) is ongoing, with industrial and port related functions gradually being relocated, environmental remediation taking place, new infrastructure being put in place, and new construction following a new light rail line, which is now built/operating. New parks have been created, along with a new cruise terminal, new convention/exhibition center, new museums and entertainment attractions, new high tech/R&D office, new shopping malls, etc. This is a 40-50 year plan - a demonstration of just how long such large redevelopment projects can take. However, the project is moving forward and it is destined to become the central business district of the city when complete.
Shinhamachō Cuisine Hub (former Gushan Fish Market) – Renovated historic fish market building re-opened as a waterfront food-hall style destination.
KW2 / Kaohsiung Port Warehouse No. 2 (棧貳庫KW2) – Adaptive-reuse waterfront warehouse retail + dining (plus hostel concept) at Pier 2.
Kaohsiung Port Warehouse Cluster (renovation/leasing) – Broader warehouse revitalization program (multiple sheds/structures) being repositioned for mixed retail/visitor uses.
E SKY MALL (義享時尚廣場 / “Dashun Sky Mall” on the map) – Major regional mall (part of the Eskyland complex).
Eslite Life flagship (誠品生活旗艦) – Large-format Eslite lifestyle retail concept referenced in the district inventory (flagship positioning).
Eslite Pier-2 (誠品生活駁二店) – Eslite bookstore/lifestyle store in a converted port warehouse in the Pier-2 Art Center.
Kaohsiung Music Center – Haiyin Hall (海音館) – Main performance venue within the Kaohsiung Music Center campus.
Kaohsiung Music Center – Coral Zone / FOCUS 13 (珊瑚館 / FOCUS 13) – Retail + lifestyle program inserted into the iconic “coral” structures by Love River Bay.
Coral Zone 01–05 (partial operation) – Sub-area / tenant blocks within the Coral Zone; some spaces operating ahead of full build-out.
Coral Zone 06–10 (partial operation) – Additional tenant blocks within the Coral Zone; phased opening/operations.
Aqua Yacht Marina – Love River Bay (亞果遊艇碼頭 A區) – Operated marina slips + clubhouse-type amenities integrated with the waterfront retail zone.
Love River Bay Marina B-Zone BOT (規劃中) – Proposed BOT expansion/second zone with commercial components (incl. retail).
Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal + retail (旅運中心：duty-free/shops/food) – International cruise gateway with duty-free and F&B/retail offerings.
Qianzhen Wharf 15 development (15號碼頭/商業區規劃) – Planned wharf-side commercial development area (concept-stage in the inventory).
Pier 21 warehouse back-of-house site (21號碼頭後線基地規劃) – Planned redevelopment parcels near Pier 21; discussed within city “Asia New Bay Area 2.0” coordination.
Bay Pier retail zone (文化創意店舖) – Small-scale creative retail cluster along the waterfront promenades (district inventory).
Hotel / mixed commercial (飯店+商場/美食街) – Hospitality-led retail/F&B node cited in the district inventory.
Kaohsiung Port Cruise area retail street (旅運/碼頭零售帶) – Retail/F&B oriented public realm supporting cruise + harbor visitation.
Dream Mall Phase 2 expansion (22號遊戲超碼頭/小型商場) – Small-format add-on retail/entertainment program referenced near Dream Mall.
“Special Trade Zone 3” commercial/office district (特貿三：商辦/都更) – Major public-led redevelopment (multiple packages/bases) bringing new office, retail and mixed-use massing.
Kaohsiung Software Technology Park retail street (軟科園區 1F/B1商店街) – Business park with ground-floor/basement retail street serving workers/visitors.
China Steel Corporation HQ campus node (中鋼集團總部/周邊) – Major corporate HQ building anchoring the district’s employment base.
IKEA Kaohsiung – Big-box IKEA store serving the metro area.
Carrefour Chenggong store (家樂福成功店) – Hypermarket-format retail serving the district.
MLD (台鋁生活商場) – Adaptive-reuse / mixed leisure complex (dining + cinema + events) in former industrial structures.
COSTCO Kaohsiung – Costco warehouse retail presence in the metro (multiple stores referenced in the inventory).
Taiwan Sugar Corp cultural/creative park retail cluster (台糖：公園文創商舖群) – Planned/curated cultural retail cluster tied to public open space.
SKM Park Outlets (東南米樂 PLAZA / outlet-related node on map) – Major outlet-style destination in the area; also adjacent new retail cluster projects are in motion.
COSTCO “Qianzhen/Asia New Bay” store (under construction) – New/announced Costco development referenced in recent coverage.
Dream Mall Phase 1 (規劃中) – Inventory item indicating additional planning around the Dream Mall sphere.
Uni-President Department Store (統一時代百貨 高雄店) – Department store component integrated with Dream Mall operations.
Dream Mall Phase 2 (規劃中) – Additional expansion planning referenced in the inventory.
Dream Mall Phase 3 (規劃中) – Longer-horizon expansion concept referenced in the inventory.
“Pier 90” seafood + waterfront dining BOT concept (90號碼頭：海鮮餐廳BOT) – Planned BOT food destination at the waterfront.
“Shared Plaza” concept (金融/健身房/商辦 – 規劃中) – Planned multi-tenant program node (finance/fitness/office) cited in the inventory.
Yishou University / medical-hospital node (義大 / 醫療量體) – Institutional anchor referenced in the district inventory.
International business center concept (國際商辦/企業總部) – Office-led development node referenced in the inventory.
Hotel connected to Dream Mall / main boulevard linkage – Hospitality + retail adjacency program referenced in the inventory.
Planned “fast fashion group” project (規劃中) – Placeholder for a proposed retail-led investment/tenant group.
Explanation of the above, along with a description of the individual projects, can be found here.
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