Blog #1

Welcome back to my second blog post! For the latter half of this first week that I spent in Taipei Taiwan, I was able to learn and explore more of the tradition, nature, and modern design. From Wednesday until today (Saturday), I and my cohort visited several exhibits/museums including: LTSER Feitsui/the Pinglin area, the National Palace Museum, Yingge Ceramics Museum, and Taihwa Pottery Painting, alongside working on a group design project at the NTU. Within these field trips, walking along the river and hills of the Pinglin area was one of the more standout experiences. I would describe this experience as a "sustainability walk". Our tour guide spent the morning walking with us beside the river, pointing out those in the field (and quite literally in the river), the water was being tested, and the research was used for conservation efforts. Sustainability can be about creating something new but can also about understanding and working with what is already there. Seeing the ...

One of the things I noticed during my trip to Taiwan was the natural traditional and modern connection. Walking through the different parts of the city, I was able to see a blend of older buildings and designs either seamlessly build into newer ones, or mixed together into a juxtaposition of new and old. In Da Dao Chen, there is old marketplace style vendors/storefronts that sit in between newer modern clothing stores and western influenced coffee shops.  Back home the newer and older parts of the city are much more separate. Whereas in Taiwan, the traditional elements are still part of the everyday environment while the city continues to develop and modernize. It’s less about leaving the old behind and instead growing with it. It truly changes the mindset of design and how history and tradition can be respected without feeling stuck in the past. Culture/tradition and modernization doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. Above is an image of the in between space of an older style bu...