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 for Haigo Shen in Taiwan. The perspectives represent the very early days of three-dimensional computer drawings (late 1990s).