TaiSugar Circular Village

Video

Description

TaiSugar Circular Village (TCV) is located within the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, Tainan. This residential project is the first of its kind in Taiwan, focusing on circular economy concept in the built environment. Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) has taken a bold initiative to experiment with this new economic model. This project is aptly placed within the masterplan that was initiated by the government in 2016 with the vision to build a smart ecosystem city that co-develops with nature, as well as to build up “people-oriented” community and the necessary green life system. In response to the advent of a sustainable economy and the policy goals of nuclear-free homeland in Taiwan, the government has listed the circular economy as an important issue of its “Five plus two innovative industries policy”. Government thus makes efforts to boost the potential of circularity in the resource limited island so as to bolster the nation’s energy security, to create a green economy and to promote environmental sustainability. The site is 10 minutes away from Tainan High Speed Rail station with the site area of 13,994.07 square meters. This development consists three identical housing blocks, a circular demo house (C-House) and an eco-house (E-house). There are a total of 429 rental units of mainly studio apartments with a small numbers of one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom apartments. The “Circular Village” is made up of the three “Circular Blocks” where the living quarters is located, “Circular Field” where it consists of a “C-House”, an “E-House” and a “C-Farm”. The C-House functions as the living room of the village, the E-House as the kitchen while the C-Farm is the garden where food is produced. In this project, we have categorized the idea of circularity in a few aspects which include Circular Concept, Circular Management, Circular Resources, Circular Living and Circular Policy to helps us positively explore new possibilities and solutions in the circular architecture.

Story

TaiSugar Circular Village (TCV) is located within the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, Tainan. This residential project is the first of its kind in Taiwan, focusing on circular economy concept in the built environment. Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) has taken a bold initiative to experiment with this new economic model. This project is aptly placed within the masterplan that was initiated by the government in 2016 with the vision to build a smart ecosystem city that co-develops with nature, as well as to build up “people-oriented” community and the necessary green life system. In response to the advent of a sustainable economy and the policy goals of nuclear-free homeland in Taiwan, the government has listed the circular economy as an important issue of its “Five plus two innovative industries policy”. Government thus makes efforts to boost the potential of circularity in the resource limited island so as to bolster the nation’s energy security, to create a green economy and to promote environmental sustainability.

The site is 10 minutes away from Tainan High Speed Rail station with the site area of 13,994.07 square meters. This development consists three identical housing blocks, a circular demo house (C-House) and an eco-house (E-house). There are a total of 429 rental units of mainly studio apartments with a small numbers of one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom apartments.
The “Circular Village” is made up of the three “Circular Blocks” where the living quarters is located, “Circular Field” where it consists of a “C-House”, an “E-House” and a “C-Farm”. The C-House functions as the living room of the village, the E-House as the kitchen while the C-Farm is the garden where food is produced. In this project, we have categorized the idea of circularity in a few aspects which include Circular Concept, Circular Management, Circular Resources, Circular Living and Circular Policy to helps us positively explore new possibilities and solutions in the circular architecture.

Link

• https://www.taisugarcircularvillage.com/

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Judge’s Comments

Mohamed Muse Hassan

Director, Institute of Innovation, Tech, & Entrepreneurship at SIMAD University

Green Life Prize

We all need our governments to prioritize the circular economy as part of revolutionizing their economies. And this is a great example of what could be achieved if governments set a good foundation for a thriving circular economy. focusing on circular economy concept in the built environment. I also see this as a cost-effective solution for governments in the developing world. It also contributes to job creation opportunities for these countries in which unemployment is a hurdle to tackle. The issue this is implemented by a private sector company. Therefore, I need to know how this happens? How does the project get funded? And how the circular village is being used? Do residents need to pay rents or can purchase the property?

Akihiro Yasui

Representative of Circular Initiatives&Partners

Future Community Prize

The construction industry is one of the most important sectors in the shift to a circular economy, given the volume of material waste and greenhouse gas emissions it creates. "TaiSugar Circular Village" is a unique community project that combines multiple areas that together form the basis of living: food production, kitchen, and living room. Each building is designed with prefabricated components, upcycled materials, material passports, a PaaS model for lighting, and a plan for its own deconstruction, all of which are important in the future of architecture. Although there was no mention of where raw materials such as wood will be procured, hopefully the project would source as locally as possible. As the current concept moves towards implementation, I hope it can serve as a great model and make waves in the architecture field worldwide.

Yu Kato

Founder at Harch Inc.

IDEAS FOR GOOD Circular Community Prize

This is a highly innovative project that incorporates many different circular economy principles, both soft and hard, from biological to technological, including modular construction designed for disassembly, BAMB using material passports, circular business ideas like PaaS and sharing, aquaponics and permaculture, rooftop farming and even beekeeping. I am really looking forward to seeing how the residents will bring this circular village to life and build a new urban ecosystem in the future.

Fumio Nanjo

N and A. International Art Consulting Office Representative Director, Mori Art Museum Special Advisor

Transforming Cities Prize

Cities represent the biggest challenge of all. This experiment incorporates the latest environmental technology in a complete package that addresses the city in a comprehensive way.