A City In Taiwan Is Demolishing an Old Mall and Turning Its Parking Lot Into a Lagoon

We ’ve seen plenty ofdead shopping centre converted as strange things , from high schools to greenhouses . The Taiwanese city of Tainan is one - upping them all by snap down an mature mall to make a connection of sandy , shady lagoon .

The cityrecentlyannouncedthe winning designfor a new public plaza on the land site of a 1980s center in Tainan ’s business district , which had “ disconnected the city from its waterfront and presently fall into decline , becoming like the rotten tooth of downtown Tainan , ” the interior decorator say . The former center will be razed to create the new public haven that will be part - park , part - event space , part walker street lined with restaurants and store .

But this is n’t your common tear - it - down - and - build - a - park undertaking . The make headway team , chair by the Dutch studioMVRDVand let in local architects LLJ Architects and Taipei ’s the Urbanists Collaborative , proposed something very interesting : They do n’t require to tear out the entire mall . Instead , they want to leave the bare - bones complex body part that it sit on exposed . The concrete basin , once the parking service department for the shopping centre , will function more like a pool bowlful while providing a trivial reminder of the blight that once put up in its place . In the parole of the studio apartment ’s founder , Winy Maas , it ’s symbolical .

Starship Test 9

It ’s easy to see another huge reason the project will benefit the city , though : deluge mitigation .

Led in the main by the Dutch , coastal cities around the world arechanging their approachto mitigating arise sea levels and extreme storms . Rather than building barriers , they ’re make what the Netherlands hollo “ way for the river . ” It ’s an idea that purport creating wetlands , lagoons , and flood airplane where storm surges can run aground – slow down the speed of these surge and reducing the impact on fragile dkm and other human being - made barriers . Imagine a sponge , instead of a brick rampart .

While MVRDV – which is based in Rotterdam – doesn’t observe it specifically in its statement about the project today , this lagoon is a perfect example of creating room for floods . Maybe the fact that the interior designer do n’t mention it is even more relation : Truly resilient infrastructure wo n’t just palliate flooding – it’ll also make the metropolis a better place the rest of the year .

Lilo And Stitch 2025