Tainan’s water network served as the basis for the city’s marine and fishing industry since the 17th century, but the 1980s saw the city depart from this historic urban approach. China-Town Mall was built on top of the old harbour next to the Tainan Canal in 1983. A large commercial structure that no longer serves its intended purpose, it has become a drain on the vitality of downtown Tainan. Tainan Spring shows what solutions are possible for unused shopping malls now that online shopping is supplanting physical stores.
The China-Town mall has been removed and meticulously recycled, making the project an innovative example of the circular economy. The mall’s underground parking level has been transformed into a sunken public plaza dominated by an urban pool and verdant local plants and surrounded by a shadowed arcade. The pool has been carefully planned to be a perfect gathering spot for all seasons: the water level will rise and fall in response to the rainy and dry seasons, and in hot weather mist sprayers will reduce the local temperature to provide welcome relief to visitors, reducing the use of air conditioning in the summer months. This space hosts playgrounds, gathering spaces, and a stage for performances, while the artful deconstruction of the building’s concrete frame has left a number of follies that can in due course be converted to shops, kiosks, and other amenities.

The renovation of Haian Road, which was completed last year, has brought new life to one of Tainan’s most lively streets. Traffic on the street has been reduced, with cars now occupying just a single lane in each direction. Meanwhile a unifying concrete tile surface has replaced a patchwork of different paving treatments that had built up over the years, and the planting strategy continues the abundant, natural approach employed elsewhere. The project also addresses one of the street’s most negative features, the many large ventilation shafts that intrude onto the public space from below ground. While these infrastructural elements could not be removed, they have been painted a uniform colour in an attempt to minimise their visual presence. The city of Tainan then selected a number of local artists to decorate these structures.
Tainan Spring is the first of two MVRDV projects that will be completed in Tainan this year, with the Tainan Wholesale Market currently in the final stages of construction to the east of the city. Tainan Spring was completed by MVRDV alongside an interdisciplinary team of experts including local architects LLJ Architects, sustainability/landscape and urban designers The Urbanists Collaborative, structural engineers consultant Evergreat Associates, SE., transportation planners THI Consultants Inc., lighting designers LHLD Lighting Design, MEP engineers Frontier Tech Institute, and General Contractor Yong-ji Construction Co. Ltd.