Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Design Competition

The Kaohsiung Port Station is situated next to the Kaohsiung Port in Yancheng District of Kaohsiung City. Formerly called “Dagouyi” or “Kaohsiungyi”, Kaohsiung Port Station was the first train station built by the Taiwan Governor-General Office during Japanese occupation on reclaimed land to commence the sea-land transportation of then Dagou Port. In 1908, Kaohsiung Port Station became the terminal station of Taiwan north-south railway line to serve the needs for passenger transport and freight transport of huge machines needed by the newly built sugar factory in southern Taiwan. It, together with the opening of Kaohsiung Port, had laid the foundation for Kaohsiung’s economic development and unfolded an era of seal-land transportation in Kaohsiung. After today’s Kaohsiung Train Station was built in 1941 as the city developed, the focus of passenger transport shifted to the new station. The freight service of the Station was also terminated in 2008 that put an end to the service of Kaohsiung Port Station.

Kaohsiung Port Station has rich cultural elements to substantiate the centurial history of Taiwan railway. To preserve the railway culture of Kaohsiung Port Station, the City Government has registered it as a historical building under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act and intends to integrate the railway facilities into future urban plan by preserving the premise, platforms, the northern signal building, and part tracks of Kaohsiung Port Station. Consideration has also been given to the possibility of re-opening the rail service.

How to integrate and accommodate the land development in the Kaohsiung Port Station area, the needs of district development, and the preservation or revitalization of railway culture are important topics in the redevelopment of Kaohsiung City. Therefore, UDB holds this design competition before embarking on actual development projects to seek creative and optimal strategy and design ideas for the cultural preservation and redevelopment of the area.

http://dagouyi.kcg.gov.tw/