The exhibition fabriquer des lieux [“Making Places”] is devoted to the work of the Taiwanese firm Fieldoffice Architects founded by Huang Sheng-Yuan. Born in Taipei, this architect has chosen to live and work in the Yilan County in the northeast of the island, where he set up his firm in 1994.
When I visited Yilan in 2017, Huang Sheng-Yuan explained that it is a very special area of Taïwan with many specific cultural and historic features. Its system of governance is more transparent and less corrupt than in the capital, and it is more closely connected to nature and the landscape than more heavily built-up areas.
Huang Sheng-Yuan has a profound attachment to the area in which he lives, and he and his colleagues refuse international projects, focusing solely on local commissions. They have decided to approach their work not only from the point of view of the architect but also from that of the inhabitant and the user. “Once a project is completed, we become simple residents and users of these spaces. I like this change of position, which reminds us why notions of equality and respect matter so much to us”, says Huang Sheng-Yuan.
Over the years, Fieldoffice has rooted itself in the life of the local community, and each project is the result of extensive public discussions and debates. The forty or so buildings it has completed during its 25 years of existence are no more than 30 minutes away from the firm by car. Its offices are in the middle of the Yilan plain, in a house surrounded by rice fields between the water and the mountains. Creative chaos reigns inside. The workspaces reflect a continuous creative process set in motion by the architects. The family atmosphere is friendly and collaborative.
This stare of mind is embodied in all of Fieldoffice’s output, which involves “making places” via ad hoc interventions which are developed over time and take shape across the Yilan plain. In additional to his work as an architect, Huang Sheng-Yuan passes on his ideas and initiatives to others. His constantly evolving projects draw their strength and remarkable quality from his in-depth experience and his single-minded, humble, generous approach, forging close links between buildings, people and the environment.