Working Cities: LuZhou

Research Background: The exhibition disseminates the outcomes of a research fellowship and visiting professorship at Tamkang University, Tamsui, Taiwan. 'Working Cities: LuZhou' celebrates Taipei as a working city, one that provides goods and jobs for its citizens, by focusing the design research on a light industrial district. Sustainable urban design practice is considered in social, economic and environmental terms such as transport costs, logistics, and job losses. Research Contribution: Whilst there is a growing interest in the adaptive reuse of industrial sites and architect-designed industrial buildings there has been little design research that investigates the implication of the loss of light industry to the social and economic city as 'lived' rather than built. This 'bottom-up urbanism' and 'everday life' approach has been applied to housing, public space, institutions and agriculture, but there have been few investigations into industry, particularly in Asia. The LuZhou district is slated for demolition. The work produced by the researchers proffers alternative approaches for the urban regeneration of the existing built fabric with the reintroduction of trade schools, DIY workspaces, 24-hour site usage, as examples. Research Significance: The exhibition was at the invitation of the URS 127 Design Gallery, owned by Taiwan City Council and administered by Tamkang University. It is a major design gallery and design incubator in Taipei, one of the six Urban Redevelopment projects (URS) that are government/private developer/community and professional initiatives that restore historic buildings to become new sites of cultural importance, debate and excellence. Exhibitions at URS 127 are peer reviewed by a board of academics, industry professionals, and government. This exhibition garnered an invitation to curate another exhibition 'Working Cities:Taipei' at Garden City Gallery in August 2013.