Taiwan travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Swiss-Danish designer Carsten Jorgensen has designed this cozy and loving interior for smith&hsu – a contemporary tea brand based in Taipei, Taiwan. Its peerless loose teas, collected from around the world, are a testament to its deep rage for both Chinese and British tea culture. Beside its carefully assorted tea collection, smith&hsu offers a huge range of tea tools and homemade gourmet food. Combining wooden furnishings with a concrete floor may seem odd, but Carsten Jorgensen has managed to merge these two seemingly disparate elements into an exotic atmosphere for smith&hsu’s patrons.

Continue reading Jars of tea and second-hand books in stacked wooden cubes at a Taipei teahouse

Architects: Oyler Wu Collaborative
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Team: Oyler, Jenny Wu, Chris Eskew, Matt Evans, Richard Lucero, Sanjay Sukie
Year: 2011
Photos: Oyler Wu Collaborative

Anemone is an architectural creation designed by Oyler Wu Collaborative aimed at weaving together aesthetic experience again tactile engagement, a combination generally considered off limits within the world of contemporary art.

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Situated in Taipei Songshan District, Taiwan, Core Pacific City is probably the weirdest shopping mall in Asia. When it first opened, it was touted as the world’s first truly 24 hour mall and Asia’s first “city within a city” complex. Covering a total area of 205, 000 sq. m, this urban property was designed by Jon Jerde, known as, the Pablo Picasso of the architecture world.

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This is a conceptual design project for Taichung in Taiwan, which includes a tower with several steel cages attached,that will be covered in algae to produce biofuel.This project won the 2nd Prize in the International Competition for Taiwan Tower at Taichung.

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Convention Center, Taichung, Taiwan was opened in 2009. The unique structure – Vertical Circulation and Enclosure System goes beyond the tradiotional architecture and propose an extraordinary vision, which stems from the East’svnaturalistic philosophy.
Holistic integration attitude and space order are the key words, which define the idea of the first project of MAD architects in Taiwan.

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The resort is positioned on the banks of Sun Moon Lake, in one of the country’s most stunningly beautiful scenic areas, The Crystal Resort Sun Moon Lake provides a timeless world of tranquility enhanced by distinctive design, fine dining and phenomenal lake views.

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The  house  is  situated  on  an  old  Japanese  cherry-farm  in  the  Datun –mountains  of  North  Taiwan. It  is  designed  as  a  vessel  to  react  on  the demanding  wind,  flooding  and  heat  conditions  on  the  site. The  house  is  a  stick  raised  above  the  ground  in  order  to let  the  flood waters  run  under  it. The  different  spaces  are  connected  to  a  flexible movement  within  the  axis  of  outdoor  and  indoor  functions. The  smaller bathroom  and  kitchen  unit  functions  as  a  kicker  stabilizing  the  wooden structure  during  the  frequent  typhoons  and  earthquakes.

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Only 20 km wide and 15 km long, Iriomote‘s infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road between its northern and eastern hamlets. 80 per cent of the island is protected by the state, and a third of it forms part of the Iriomote National Park, which includes Japan‘s biggest coral reef – the lagoon between Iriomote and its near neighbour, Ishigaki. Iriomote is covered by dense subtropical jungle and mangrove swamps, threaded through and around a dozen peaks over 420 m. Photo by: kaori

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Today Taiwan boats of an incredible solar-powered stadium that produce 100% of its electricity from photovoltaic technology!  The stadium had a dragon shape with 50,000 seats and 8,844 solar panels that illuminate the track and field with 3,300 lux. The stadium is brand new and will officially open its doors later this year to welcome the 2009 World Games.

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One of the major attractions in the Rotterdam architecture are the Cubic Houses. The cubes are tilted and sit on hexagon-shaped structures.These are 39 cube-shaped dwellings, built in 1984 by Piet Biom, which are still inhabited. The living areas are divisions into three levels – the triangle-shaped lower level contains the living area, the middle level contains the sleeping area and a bathroom, and the top level is used a bedroom and relax place, offers a great view since the apex.

Continue reading A part of the unusual architecture of the world