Home at last

Our flight home took a little bit longer than expected due to the fact that our plane got a little bit delayed and we weren't able to make our connecting flight. After our 33 hour-journey home we are all tired but the mood was still good due to the great experiences we had gotten from this wonderful trip.

Our work however is not done yet, we still have a lot of work to do.

Presentation done

Now the presentation is done.

Our plan now is to do some shopping and packing and then have a party and sauna with our new found friends at the ruin academy. we are looking forward to the party and hope that as many as possible are able to join us.

But now we have to get busy to be able to do everything we have to do before the party.

Eight Day

So the time is about 03:00 and we are still working hard. It is a good thing noone expected a vacation when coming here and that is probably the only reason that we have been able to get the resaults we have. All day today was spent working on our presentation for tomorrow which we have high hopes for.

Personally I have so much more to say but I feel that it is paramount to get some sleep now so that we don't look too tired while presenting tomorrow.

Good night and wish us well tomorrow.

Sixth and Seventh Day of the Workshop

Yesterday we went and had a talk with the people at the Taipei Urban Development Office. They had prepared a nice presentation for us and were kind enough to answer some of our questions eventhough we went over our scheduled time. We got to see what they were planning and already doing which gave us something to think about.
After that we went back to the Studio with some great coffee from the Urbancore Cafe and worked hard until late.

Today we took a hired bus up to the mountains to see the Feitsui Reservoir which was really intresting and gave us another view on the river. Up there the river was blue and clear compared to the gray muddy water that's going trough the city. The nature around there was really healthy and beautiful.

On our way back we stopped at a small local restaurant and had a nice meal before going to a aboriginal settlement and locked at both the river there and the construction of the village itself. Our guide told us a lot about the place and we got to see yet another side of the complex problem that we are supposed to try and solve.

The last place we visited before returning home to work was the Dihua Sewage Treatment Plant and got to walk around and see the facilities. It was a very modern plant that showed good cleaning resaults and it was also designed so that since it was underground there was a park constructed on top of it. The only problem we could see there was that only 63% of Taipei was connected to it.

Fourth and Fifth day of the Workshop

First off, sorry for not updating the blog yesterday. We were working hard during the day and in the evening we went and talked with the student of the Tamkang University which led to us returning around midnight.

Today however we started the day off with going to the City Hall and talking with the Hydraulic Departement. They showed us some specifics on the riversystem and then they started talking about their plans that are in effect. We learned quite a lot during the session we had with them. Afterwards we had a look at the Discovery Center of Taipei before part of the group took the long way up Taipei 101 to get a bird’s eye view of the city before returning to the Ruin Academy to work some more.

Later in the evening we kept a short presentation for the Tamkang and NTU students about our work and how it is connected to their work, after which we discussed with them about the technical solutions on some of their plans before returning home.

Third day in Taipei

Today was sunday and it was again filled with lots to do. We started the day off at 9 am and were a bit tired from yesterday because we stayed up quite less discussing what we had seen during the day.

Today we went and met up with Mrs. Chen who was the matriarcal leader at Tresure Hill and talked to her about the river and its pollution. She gave us a great view in how things have been and how the have changed. She even invited us to join her and some other people for a big dinner outside.

After having eaten a great meal we went to the International Fauna Expo and there we took a boattrip on the river where we could see among other things a dead fish floating. Due to the long bus-lines at the expo we decided it was faster to walk to the docks instead of waiting for the bus and as an added bonus we got to see part of the expo.

After the expo we went to the night-market to have something to eat before returning to our studio to do some planning.The planning went well and we felt we did som headway. But again we have been too excited about the project and stayed up a little too late. So now it is off to bed.

First post from Taipei

After a long fligth to Taipei via Amsterdam which took about 23hrs (and a timezone difference of + 6hrs) we finally arrived at our destination. Jetlag and getting settled took the best of us the day of arrival but we managed to get a few things done still. Today we started of with getting breakfast at 7-11 which consisted of a triangular riceball and something to drink. After that we took the MRT (metro) to our meeting.


We met with some fishermen who took us on their boats on a trip around the river. We got to see alot of the city from a different viewpoint and it was quite the experience. In the middle of the boattrip we stoppad at a local tempelsquare and tried some of the local cuisine. We had some noodles, pigsblood-soup, fried fish and had some jelly dessert. We saw some frogs and turtles but no one dared to try that.


After our lunch we got to go on the river some more before we arrived at the start of a walkway on one of the sides of the river. We walked for a long time before we took a ferry over to the other side of the river and walked along that. We noticed that it was lowtide and we walked out onto the riverbed and could see with our own eyes the shape it is in.


Later we had a fantastic dinner curtesy of JUT Foundation before going to the Tamkang University and meeting up with the other students involved in this program. Right now it is half past two and we should go to sleep so that we are well rested tomorrow.

Last Minute

Just about 6hrs until we are meeting at Helsinki Airport and travel-fever is rising. The last things are being taken care of and some items still remain unpacked. Let's hope we do not forget anything important and that everything runs smoothly all the way to Taipei.

Next update will be done from half-way around the world. Wish us Godspeed.

Travel Fever Rising

Well the departure draws closer and closer. Now it is just tomorrow left to do everything that has to be done before we can leave. Still no sponsorship for the flight-tickets but we will not let that dampen our spirits.

Last Meeting

Today we had our last meeting before the trip. We discussed our plans and how we are going to do our work while in Taipei. We also concluded that we will have a lot of time at the airport and in the plane that we could use to our advantage. Everyone is excited about getting on the plane in a few days, however, there is some concern about the situation in Japan (the powerplant in Fukushima) but not enough to make us cancel our flights just yet.

Idea Swap

Today, in about one hour, we will have an idea swap. Since past week has been exam week several of our members have been preoccupied with studying for exams and we have not been able to meet. That is why we decided to work separately during this week and then get together today and discuss our results. Perhaps we will see some ideas today that would not have come to light if we were to have worked as a group this week.

Getting innovative!

The trip is getting closer and we are REALLY exited. We have also made new promising moves for the funding. Now we are focusing only for the planning. We are turning our creative senses to the max to get wild ideas! Then we will mix them in some serious brain storming to get even wilder ideas.

Our Accomodations

Just wanted to show you where we will be staying when in Taipei.
http://webecoist.com/2011/03/02/urban-ruins-abandoned-building-houses-architecture-academy/

Some Bad News

Some bad news for the group. The scholarship we were looking forward to fell through. We are however still hopeful that we will recieve some financial help for the planetickets.

Group Lunch Pt. II

On Monday we had a group lunch and discussed a bit about the trip and what to do there. We also made some decisions regarding where to go from here. These decisions regarded the end result and what each of us should do before the trip and what part we are to play in the process creating our visionary plan.

Of course we had some crazy ideas as well but at this point we felt that it is a good thing not to limit ourselves. A few times the discussion got derailed but that usually led to some useful idea coming to light in the end.

Our casual meeting gave good results and we are to work independently with certain tasks until we meet again to discuss our progress.

The other group's Workshops

Last week we took part in the other group's workshops and quite enjoyed the experience. When listening to the comments of the teachers at the end of each group’s workshop we too learned of things to keep in mind when doing our own workshop in Taipei.