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1. STREET OF CHI-KWANBorn in Beijing in 1921, Mr.Chi Kwan CHEN studiedarchitecture at the CentralUniversity in Chongqing. Heset sail for the US to continuehis studies in 1948. In 1951, hejoined the architectural firm ofWalter Gropius. Invited by I.M.Pei in 1954, he participated inthe design of the campus ofTunghai University and returnedto settle in Taiwan in 1960.Mr. CHEN had outstandingachievements in botharchitecture and painting.The Luce Memorial Chapel atTunghai University is one ofthe representative works of hisarchitectural design. In 2004, hereceived the National Award forArts for his series of paintings.There are three reasons forgiving him the award:With the aesthetic of anarchitect, CHEN combinedabstract concepts with the1medium of ink to create a newart of painting that evokesa mystical, architectural,ethereal and pure world of theimagination beyond time andspace. His work demonstratesa high degree of creativity andfreedom. Fusing memories andimaginative elements, as wellas emphasizing the explorationof the “new”, his work showsconstant, multi-dimensionalexpansion through radiating,juxtaposed forms. Hence,his creativity in art is highlyoriginal. The paintings aredecorative, with architecturallines and hallucinatory spacesthat stimulate us to look at theenvironment around us in a newlight. His style is inspiring andproduces a cumulative effect.22

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2. STREET OF LANDSCAPEThe Industrial Revolutionthat began on the EuropeanContinent spelled the official endof the agricultural civilization.Those in the countryside had nochoice but to move to the cities.Due to population growth andthe high-density architecture,there was hardly any land left fornatural green space.2.22.32.1No matter how “advanced” ourcivilization becomes, there areHowever, after more thanstill sounds of the forest anda century of modern urbanthe ocean in our DNA and ourdevelopment, the relationshipblood, and we still follow thebetween man and nature stillnatural cycles of the waningremains to be resolved. Thisand waxing of the moon. Thisgives us the opportunity to reexamine it in our own culture. In has nothing to do with whetherparticular, the quest for harmony we have advanced technology.Originating from nature, we have/ union between man, natureto go back to nature.and the universe in East Asiancivilization, as reflected in theliterati’s emphasis on landscape It is only right that the city andpainting and gardens, suggests the people should respect andthat maintaining our respect for love nature.landscape and the universe maybe a solution for the modern city.24

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3. STREET OF SCALEThe Street of Scales is initiallyhidden from view. It is presentonly as a controlled attemptto abandon visible forms ofurban structures. Objects fromsuperficial experiences andordinary life are offered up withgreat reverence in an intimateand organic way, so that webarely give any notice to them.What intrigues in the streetof measures are objects thathave been displaced from theiroriginal intent, and transformedfrom their original size.Changes in proportion providea necessary stimulation thatserves to unify memory, affirmconvictions, and awaken thesubconscious. Structuresthat enclose objects on urbanroadways gradually becomedistinct; and buildings becomereflective of the city. Memoriesare recalled generation aftergeneration; the Street of Scalesreassures us that memories are3.13.33.23.2not guided by the specificitiesof time or place. These scales:of tantei (detective), of chikasa(proximity), and of engawa(buffer-zone), not only assureand validate us of our communalyearning and knowledge, butalso consciously provoke shiftsin scale that are perceivedin complex and continuedconfirmation as they quietly filland inhabit the streets. Thesecreations and installationsthus become autobiographicalnarratives.26

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4. STREET OF LEARNINGWe are taught to understand theunknown world through logicof words and numbers, awayfrom unfamiliar diversity, of sightand sound. These bear witnessto our constant resistanceto learning in confrontingthe overwhelming and oftenhostile forces of change. Thestrength of a community isin its connection to a sharedcommunal memory. It providesa space and time for procuringknowledge that ultimatelyenables growth and selfdefence. This occurs organicallywhenever we are irrevocablytransformed by natural or manmade challenges, or when atreasured memory capturesour interest. The knowledge weacquire often remains unseen,but its intangible presenceincreases in strength as itbecomes embodied. Thoughthe physical city exists in thebuildings it encompasses, theforgotten spaces between4.44.14.34.2buildings are valuable lessonsin primal instinct that bufferagainst the ravages of time.Observation is an act ofrecognizing self-identity. Theseare constantly created fromrecurring sights and sounds.Observations include inheritedmemories and experiences.They are a necessary practicethat influence ways in whichwe construct meaning andgain inspiration from ourexperiences.28

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5. STREET OF OBJECTSThe Street of Objects representsa lexicon of objects throughwhich a city identifies itself.These objects evoke narrativefragments: missing maps,subverted anecdotes, andchronicles of images. As thesenarrative objects becomefamiliar, they gradually unifyany unresolved fragments. Invarying ways, these buildingscreate a site that embodies ourmemories, and from which webegin to question the parts thatform the urban whole, or whichstreets belong to the city. Thereare numerous ways in which acity resists fragmentation withshared connections despitezoning changes. Individually,objects hold no significance.But they become symbolsonly through memory orpsychological associations.Without these anchors, objectslose inherent epistemologicalvalue and become invisible,meaningless, and immobile.5.45.25.35.130

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6. STREET OF UTOPIAIn western architecture,there have been continuousreflections on and projectionsof utopian ideals. However,there is hardly any imaginationor quest of a utopia in Easternarchitecture.Of course, both Peach BlossomSpring written by Tao Yuan-mingand the painting Along the RiverDuring the Ching-ming Festivalby Chang Tse-duan manifest therichness of the mixture of cultureand reality in people’s daily lives,and reflect the longing that acity / village should be peopleoriented. However, while subtlycelebrating an existing city or anisolated village, neither dared topinpoint what the human societyshould strive for.“Street of Utopia” intendsto find out why we have nosuch imagination of the idealarchitecture / city, and wherethis kind of utopia should6.26.36.1originate from. It also raisesthe question whether we aretoo timid to believe in thefuture, or whether we are sooppressed by power and thereality that we dare not facethe contemporary society, andcan only resign ourselves orwithdraw ourselves from theworld.The city certainly needs myths,as well as utopias.32

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fig. 1: Dehow Projects: MONO VALLEY UTOPIA, 201434

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The collaboration is betweencurator, artist, and exhibitor,this project is collection ofbody of work explores howrelationships are articulated bythe series of existing art worksand programme rooms, buildinga singular wooden structureexplore through furnituresupport members scaled into astructure for inhabitation.Three principle ideas on MONOVALLEY MOUND:MonoA series of rooms withinan existing gallery room,seamless intervention of bothstructure and display, emergeas singular and autonomousform.ValleyAn literal and figural collectivepoint where visitor experiencetotal image of the exhibition,as the cross-section meltingbetween entry and exitmounds.UtopiaAs the buffer zone, betweenreality and fiction through thesense rural atmosphere inthe setting of urban contextof museum, both naturaland artificial encountersthrough of visual and sensorycontradictions.36

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7. STREET OF CLOUDThere is always an elementof enlightenment/ irrationalityin creativity. The creator mustadmit his own inadequacybefore he can conjure up thisunknown spirit. However, thereare few that are gifted withdivine revelation.It has no direct correlation withthe knowledge or status thatone has. In fact, the exampleof sciomancers in Taiwanshows that the opposite is thecase, and that the knowledgeand moral system of the worldmay be the obstacle of directcommunication.The universe has existed asspace anonymously for eternity.Self-conscious human beingshave named all things on earthand defined the meaning oftheir existence in relation tomankind. However, there mustbe unexplored spaces in thespaces that we know andbeyond the spaces we know.In that case, can we really grasp7.47.57.17.67.37.2the real existence of space?What is the relationshipbetween man and space? Is itdefinite or indefinite?Maybe the answer is in theshifting clouds in the sky!40

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烏托邦城市 · 論壇Utopia-City ForumThis project was the architect’sfirst design for a metropolitanbuilding type142

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SignificanceThe the first thematic researchedexhibition of the history of the museumand the exhibition marks the 130thAnniversary of Taipei’s Founding in2014. The show was nominated for theTaishin Arts Award for Visual Arts andwas selected among the top five publicexhibitions for 2014 in Taiwan accordingto a poll as reported by China Times, wasseen by over 176,500 people during thethree months.Featured full-scale installations,photographs, drawings, collagesand other exhibits that explored themodernism theme as well as the differentways of experiencing architecture andthe ambiguous status of architecture asan object of display. The works organizedalong seven “streets” that reflected44

such perspectives as learning, objects,utopia, and landscape. On the walls,some suspended from the ceiling, somewere on the floor, and some could beinhabitable, to present artefacts in spatialand environmental qualities. As a result,it prompted audiences to reimaginehow they understand an architectureexhibition in the context of the artmuseum, as continuously evolving historyof architectural and urban thinking.45

Dissemination andEvidence of Peer ReviewThe Cloud of Unknowing: A City withSeven Streets was seen by over 176,500people between 5 May - 17 August2014. The exhibition was nominated forthe Taishin Arts Award for Visual Artsand was selected among the top fivepublic exhibitions for 2014 in Taiwan,according to a poll as reported by ChinaTimes. At the latter end, a commissionedproject was selected as a finalist inthe 2014 ADA Awards for EmergingArchitects, exhibited at the UBC Museumof Anthropology in Vancouver, andone exhibitor leads to published twomonograph comic novels.The University of Hong Kong and theFaculty of Architecture awarded 201646

Faculty Knowledge of Exchange (KE)Award, a summary of evaluation bythe Selection Committee recognizedfor its contribution to public “This is arare example of an architect curating acast of high-calibre international artiststo produce an exhibition that clearlycaptured a nation’s attention.”TFAM’s architectural exhibitions havegarnered public attention and opened afresh view through the cross-disciplinaryconvergence of art and architecture. Listof Architecture Exhibition at the TFAMhas explored the form of the architecturalretrospective, at the beginning of 2002.A significant contribution was thedisciplinary underpinning of the museumto examine architecture exhibition asa research endeavor that allows thecommissioned curators to interpret the47

specify as collaborative adventures, situateartists to interact with these locations, boththe site and exhibition into a living entity.History of Architecture Exhibition at the TFAM:“Louis Kahn. The Power of Architecture” (2015)“Cloud of Unknowing: A City with Seven Streets” (2014)“Glenn Murcutt: Architecture for Place” (2011)“Richard Rogers Architects: From the House to the City” (2010)“Toyo Ito: Generative Order” (2008)“Archilab: Collection du FRAC Centre” (2008)“Archigram: Experimental Architecture 1961-74” (2007)“Le Corbusier: Morceaux Choisis, 1912-1965.” (2002)The exhibition has been reviewed in thecase-studies of curatorial studies programat universities. Presented in over 20 lecturesincluding Harvard University, WellesleyCollege, Tongji University and among others.Exhibitors include:Street of Chi-Kwan, Chi Kwan CHEN;Street of Landscape: Wei Ho WANG, Kuo Chang LIU, C.Y.LEE, Fu Yu CHEN;48

Street of Scales: Terunobu FUJIMORI, GoHASEGAWA, Jun IGARASHI;Street of Learning: Nick BONNER, DominicJOHNSON-HILL, Department of Architecture Tohoku Institute of Technology, Pei Feng LEE, TsanCheng WU;Street of Objects: Sheung Chuen PAK, Wei I LEE,Ting Fung HO, Chung Han YAO; Street of Utopia: NingOU, Jiun Yang LEE, Yung Ho CHANG;Street of Cloud: Interbreeding Field, Che WANG,Cooper FANG, Ken UENO, Jay CHIUCatalogue contributors include:ROAN Ching-Yueh, Thomas TSANG, Aric CHEN,Terunobu FUJIMORI, Yung Ho CHANG, Sand HELSEL,and OU Ning49

AppendixBooks, journals, andreferences to the projectwritten by others:Cloud of Unknowing: A Citywith Seven Streets, Modern Art,No.173 Quarterly, Taipei Fine ArtMuseum, Taipei, Taiwan, June2014, pp. 110-117Cloud of Unknowing: A City withSeven Streets, IW Magazine,No.98, Taipei, Taiwan, July 2014.pp. 61-66Cloud of Unknowing: A City withSeven Streets, ARTCO, QuarterlySeptember, Taiwan, July 2014.pp. 109-112Bibliography“Cloud of Unknowing: anExhibition about Modern AsianArchitecture”The University of Hong Kong,Knowledge Exchange, KENewsletter - Issue 11 November2016 - Link“Cloud of Unknowing: A Citywith Seven Streets”Taipei Fine Arts Museum Exhibition Link - Video Trailer Exhibition Catalogue50

Content: Thomas TsangGraphic Design:Milkxhake51

The Department ofArchitecture educates studentsin an active culture of service,scholarship and invention.Uniquely situated at thecrossroads of China and globalinfluence, the Department takesthe approach that design is bestexplored from a sophisticatedunderstanding of both. With amultidisciplinary curriculumemphasizing technology, historyand culture, students gain broadknowledge and skills in themanagement of the environmental,social, and aesthetic challengesof contemporary architecturalpractice. With opportunities fordesign workshops, internationalexchanges, and study travel,graduates of the Department ofArchitecture are well prepared forcontribution to both internationaland local communities ofarchitects and designers.

Cloud of Unknowing: A City with Seven Streets (2014) is a key exhibition organized by the museum in conjunction with the city government's celebration for the 130th Anniversary of Taipei's Founding in 2014. Because this marks the first time for the museum to present a themed exhibition on the subject of urban spatiality and issues