Taiwan Mixed-Use Buildings

This theme explores zonghe buildings (綜合大樓), a distinctive form of post-war architecture and urban life in Taiwan. These buildings stack multiple functions into a single mid-rise structure: typically shops at ground level, cinemas, dance halls, and other entertainment on the floors above, and offices or apartments higher still. They proliferated in urban centers from the 1960s onward. The international planning term “mixed-use” describes the same combining of functions, though the zonghe is a more specific Taiwanese type, ranging from purely commercial complexes to those with substantial residential floors. Due to changing consumer habits, natural disaster (particularly earthquakes), and mismanagement, many of these buildings have fallen into ruin in the early 21st century, often trapping elderly residents and migrant workers in dangerous and sometimes lethal circumstances. Fragmentary ownership structures and a lack of funding for demolition have often left these buildings in a state of perpetual decay.