Best Practice

Urban regeneration, public participation, historic preservation, and green and water resources along the Green River waterfront, made it a good Green Corridor Plan.

Introduction

Mecanoo has released images of their proposed Taichung Green Corridor in Taiwan, set along a mile-long (1.7-kilometer) former railway line cutting through the city center. Once a valuable means of connection, the railway currently acts as a barrier due to its awkward position along a dyke, impeding circulation across the railway lines.The Mecanoo scheme seeks to reuse the railway line to connect different parts of the city through a green corridor centered on biodiversity, cycling, and walking. Throughout the design process, Mecanoo addressed factors including urban regeneration, public participation, historic preservation, and green and water resources along the Green River waterfront.

Taichung Green Corridor Plan

Reason to Be Selected

The 1.7 km long former railway line crossing downtown Taichung was an important catalyst for the development of the old city. The railway’s historical value plays an important role in the revitalisation of the urban realm on which it sits.

Highlights:

Sustainable life, sustainable history & culture

A linear park in the city centren

A destination for all

Details

Sustainable life, sustainable history & culture: Although in the past, the rail line was a mean of connection, the disused railway acts more as a divider due to its challenging location on the dyke, which impedes the circulation from one side of the tracks to the other. The current proposal will reuse the rail line to connect the different parts of the city in a sustainable way by creating a green corridor for biodiversity and including bike/pedestrian lanes to better cater for the needs of the community.

A linear park in the city centre: define the green corridor as a continuous public park in the centre of the city, which will: support the conservation and development of the area’s flora and fauna; Improve connections for pedestrians and bike users in Taichung centre; Integrate existing and newly added functions to the area into a coherent linear park. the new routes will improve connections for pedestrians and bike users in Taichung centre

A destination for all: The green corridor will become a destination and invite users to explore and enjoy the green qualities of the park. Based on different properties of the dyke, programmes such as herb garden, street fitness, tribune, playground, viewpoint and waterpark create an ideal place for leisure and recreation activities. All the proposed programmes are designed to intensify the use of the area for the local and wider Taichung community while promoting a more coherent city infrastructure.

Conclusions

To maintain the area’s strong historical character, and set a coherent, recognisable theme for the project, the new circulation system layout relies on the junction railway track pattern. Based on the visual language of the railway infrastructure, the routes branch out to integrate the existent and future planned functions.