Renaissance of the Old Town District in Tainan:Research on Aesthetic Zoning in Historic Districts

Abstract

Tainan is a city full of architectural diversity, with nearly four hundred years of history since the Dutch colonization in 1624. The Taiwanese called it Fucheng, which means ″the first capital built in Taiwan.″ During the urbanization process, the vernacular spatial characteristics became concealed as a result of the urban renovation plan during the Japanese colonial period. The authors wish to explore this vernacular quality and make it the aesthetic criteria for the old town district in Tainan. First, urban conservation and aesthetic zoning plans in western countries are reviewed for reference. Second, the authors make an analysis of the morphological structure in the old town district, define the exterior layer and interior layer of typical old town blocks, and illustrate — with spatial characteristics, spatial deficiencies, urban context gaps and lost space — the composition of temple plazas and land use patterns, etc. Third, based on the morphology of aesthetic zoning, redevelopment of the historic landscape by both accentuating the streetscape and rezoning inside the old town blocks is proposed. In addition, the authors suggest viewshed control and graded density to recompose a pedestrian village with a fluid open space network. After the aesthetic zoning techniques are fully discussed and understood, the authors finally encourage marketing and an autonomous community as means toward the sustainable development of the old town district.