MAA GROUP Consulting Engineering

Integrating the Past and the Present

The design of the DG166 G14 Beimen Station rises out of careful consideration of the physical and historical contexts of the greater site area, which is comprised of the former Taiwan Railway Headquarters compound and train yards, currently being redeveloped into a historical museum/park.

The entry/exits that delineate both edges and a corner of TaChen Road appear as surviving 'fragments' of a bygone era in their interpreted 'industrial-aesthetic' structural frames, or, as low-impact glass 'pavilions' accenting the contemporary urban landscape.  Aside from their pure function as entry/exits to the metro station below, each structure addresses and incorporates complimentary functions such as mechanical exhaust/air intakes, bus stops, bicycle parking, temporary rest areas and small landscapes along and around all edges so there is no one blind side.

Underground, all materials lining the spaces are rendered monolithically in neutral grey, establishing a sense of timelessness and temporal suspension from the outside world above.  Within this grey, specific displays occur in the forms of vertical relief or horizontal glass flooring, framing excavated artifacts discovered during construction and/or timelines depicting the historical development of the site as various forms of public art.

Overall, the design is an attempt to explore the potential to evoke and fuse history, modernity, culture and urbanity through the [conventionally] neutral medium of public infrastructure.

Scope of work

• Basic design integration and detailed design of entrances A/B/C and vent shaft
• Urban design review of entrances A/B/C and vent shaft X
• Heritage ruins discovered during archaeological excavations of the ruins were integrated into MRT station designs