The “2050 Taoyuan Railway Viaduct Urban Vision Competition,” promoted by the Urban Development Bureau of the Taoyuan City Government, aims to transform the long-standing railway areas, which have historically divided the city, into integrated open spaces tightly woven into urban life. This forward-thinking project, spearheaded by the Design School of Chung Yuan University, enlists the participation of young talents nationwide to envision the future cityscape of 2050, with a particular focus on the future development of urban life in Taoyuan.
The competition attracted participation from 12 universities and 17 departments nationwide, totaling 101 submissions. The Landscape Architecture Department of Chung Yuan University stood out in this competition, with the involvement of junior and master’s students. They achieved remarkable success, securing 1 second prize, 4 honorable mentions, and 8 commendable works. This not only acknowledges the efforts of the faculty and students but also showcases their outstanding abilities in urban design and planning.
Under the theme “Urban Frontier: Linking Rail Backbone and Pond Green Cells,” the Landscape Architecture Department distinguished itself in the fierce competition by its outstanding design concept and execution, earning the second prize along with a prize of forty thousand dollars.
The team’s design philosophy addressed the extreme climate challenges that might be faced in 2050, particularly the urban expansion and disappearance of ponds resulting from railway underground projects. To tackle this change, they ingeniously linked resilient cells around the railway as green backbone while treating ponds as urban boundaries. By integrating rural systems and mitigating disaster impacts, they aimed to create a distinctive and sustainable living environment for the future. This concept not only responds to the future urban challenges of 2050 but also fully utilizes the local cultural characteristics of Taoyuan’s ponds, winning unanimous approval from the judges.
