Awards

• 2014 Design Taichung Award – Grand Prize, 3rd Taichung Urban Space Design Awards
• 2013 LivCom Awards (International Awards for Liveable Communities) – First Prize, Natural Environment Category
• 2012 Chinese Architecture Golden Stone Award – Golden Stone Award, Outstanding Public Infrastructure Category
• 2012 National Outstanding Construction Award – Excellence Award, Best Planning & Design, Public Infrastructure Category

Calligraphy Greenway stretches approximately 3.7 kilometers, connecting the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and Liuchuan Canal. As one of Taichung’s most important urban green corridors, it traverses a diverse range of districts, including cultural, commercial, residential, and recreational areas, each with its own unique character and identity.

To reflect these varied urban contexts, the project was conceived as a series of distinct landscape experiences, transforming the greenway into a continuous public space inspired by the fluid movement and expressive beauty of Chinese calligraphy. Six themed zones were created to define the journey:

1. Dance of Cursive Script

At the crossing of Taiwan Boulevard, sweeping steel structures and water curtains symbolically reconnect spaces divided by major traffic corridors. Inspired by the flowing strokes of cursive calligraphy, this gateway celebrates movement, connectivity, and the city's spirit of innovation.

2. Hill of Science and Art

A dynamic public plaza where water, landscape, and art intertwine. Sculpted landforms, mist features, aquatic planting, and interactive information displays create a lively environment that links culture, science, and urban recreation.

3. Forest of Reading

Beneath a mature grove of trees, custom seating elements weave through the landscape, creating intimate spaces for reading, gathering, and small-scale cultural events. Soft lighting enhances the atmosphere after dark.

4. Urban Stage

A 100-meter-long timber deck provides a flexible platform for performances, exhibitions, street art, and community activities. This vibrant space has become a gathering place where citizens actively participate in urban life.

5. Civic Plaza

Inspired by the rhythm of brushstrokes on paper, lawns, paving, terraces, and seating areas are composed in sweeping linear patterns. The expansive open lawn supports a wide range of public events while offering flexible spaces for everyday use.

6. Dancing Water Dragon

In the southern residential section, a winding watercourse forms the centerpiece of the landscape. Hard surfaces were reduced and replaced with natural planting, gravel slopes, mist features, and ecological habitats, creating a softer and more nature-oriented environment.

Design Vision

Drawing inspiration from the expressive qualities of Chinese calligraphy, the project explores the interplay between movement and stillness, lightness and solidity, nature and urban life. Flowing steel structures, sculpted green hills, floating stone seating, water features, and mist landscapes collectively create a sequence of memorable public spaces.

More than a landscape improvement project, Calligraphy Greenway has become a cultural and ecological spine for Taichung, encouraging people to reconnect with nature, public space, and one another while fostering a deeper appreciation for the city's environmental and cultural heritage.