From import to local: the development of brick and its tectonics in Taiwan between 1624 and 1945

Abstract

Materiality has been one of the most frequent topics of discussion for generations of architecture researchers, and also in the area of architectural history study. Numerous researchers are fascinated by the idea of development (or evolution) of architecture in order to understand how architecture has changed from ancient to “contemporary” for them. This discussion can trace back from Vitruvius, through Marc-Antoine Laugier, Banister Fletcher, Auguste Choisy, Karl Bötticher, John Ruskin, Viollet-le-Duc, Gottfried Semper, and it is still a meaningful topic for contemporary scholars to study architectural history. As the basic substance of architecture, the issue of building materials has been an unavoidable question in the evolution of architecture. This thesis approaches Taiwanese architecture from the perspective of one building material – brick. It explores the development of brick and its tectonics in Taiwan, between 1624 and 1945, through four different architectural culture periods - Dutch (1624-1662), Min-nan Chinese (1662-1895), Western (1860-1895), and Japanese culture period (1895-1945) -to understand the process of brick from being an “imported” building material to becoming a “local’ one. This thesis adopted the perspective that both building materials and tectonics are the products of human thought. With this perspective, this study started by identifying the relative “agents”, including material manufacturers, builders, designers, patrons, and ruling authorities The thesis showed that often the ruling authority played an important role, even as the game changer. Thus, it argued that the evolution of architecture tectonics and building materials was not a process but rather the result of actions of key participants in the case of Taiwan. Otherwise, this thesis is also the first research to construct a Taiwanese architectural history by connecting the building material – brick -, the tectonics of architecture, and identifying key influencing events and persons in a relatively large time scope, between 1624 and 1945, passing through four architectural cultural periods. It attempts to present a coherent overview approach to Taiwanese architectural history starting from a single building material, and aims to contribute to enhancing our understanding of the development of architecture and construction history up to the modern period, especially in the context of East Asia.