Pioneer of Regionalism: Chen Renhe's Exploration of Modernity in Architecture

"Architects must be self-aware and self-motivated—we stand in a position where we can use our creations to achieve the ultimate truth, goodness, and beauty of humanity."
—Chen Ren-He, "A Private Opinion of an Architect"


      Chen Ren-He (1922-1989) was born on Jibei Island, Penghu, during the Japanese colonial period and grew up in Pingtung and Kaohsiung. While attending Kaohsiung High School, Chen Ren-He already displayed strong mathematical and artistic talents. He was greatly inspired during the construction period of the Yamato Hotel, managed by his father Chen Liang, in front of Pingtung Station. In 1942, he went to Japan to study architecture at Waseda University's specialized department, where he received structural engineering training from Naito Tachu, "the father of earthquake-resistant structures." He was also influenced by Japanese modern architectural expressionism and European avant-garde thought. The collision and cultivation of these two forces, coupled with the unique Chinese culture of Taiwan, this "uncivilized land," laid the foundation for his later rugged style, which demonstrated free expressiveness with powerful structural calculation capabilities.
       After returning to Taiwan at the end of World War II, Chen Ren-He first taught at Kaohsiung Industrial Vocational School and served as Dean of Academic Affairs. Later, due to his leadership in student protests during the February 28 Incident, he was introduced to work at the Public Works Bureau of the Taipei City Government to avoid trouble. In 1951, he returned to Kaohsiung and established his architectural office. His first masterpiece, the Kaohsiung Buddhist Temple (1954-1966), won the first prize in the top ten architectural awards from the Construction Department of the Taiwan Provincial Government. Subsequently, he completed important works such as the Sanhsin Home Economics and Commercial High School Wavy Building (1962-1963) and the Fengshan Meat Market (1974-1976/1983-1985). In 1967, he was honored with the first Golden Tripod Award for Top Ten Architects, alongside Lin Ching-Feng, Wang Da-Hong, Chen Chi-Kuan, Hsiu Tse-Lan, Shen Chu-Hai, Yang Cho-Cheng, and others.
       However, compared to the architects active in Taipei, Chen Ren-He, who had been deeply rooted in Kaohsiung for many years, was rarely written about. This is not only related to Taiwan's cultural structure of prioritizing the north over the south, but also because post-war mainland elites long controlled media resources and discourse. Under this dual obscuration, his important works gradually fell into disrepair or disappeared, and his name was almost unknown in architectural circles. It was not until the late 2000s that academics began to re-examine this first generation of native post-war architects. Through continuous field surveys and research, his position in architectural history gradually emerged.
       This book, for the first time, comprehensively traces Chen Ren-He's life and architectural practice, including 22 works from 1954 to 1976. These include early representative works such as the Kaohsiung Buddhist Temple, with an entrance composed of three towers, and an exterior that blends Japanese, Western, and Indian styles. Inside, reinforced concrete structures stack up to form a main hall space reminiscent of Indian Buddhist grottoes, creating a modernized Buddhist temple. Also featured is the famous Sanhsin Home Economics and Commercial High School Wavy Building, with its chaotic, dynamic fair-faced concrete exterior walls, progressively adjusted floor heights forming stepped classrooms, and a Japanese-style hipped roof on the top floor with elephant trunk sculptures at both ends of the ridge—a precisely engineered "dancing house." The most classic is the Fengshan Meat Market, which boldly adopted the concept of a "circular market" with radial driveways accommodating twenty-nine trucks for direct unloading, solving the chaos of pig auction operations and winning two Architectural Golden Tripod Awards.
       Chen Ren-He's works are both brilliant renditions of structural engineering and profound responses to the southern land. He could blend Japanese, Chinese, Western, and even Southeast Asian cultures in religious, educational, residential, and other public and private buildings, forming a free, bold, and regional language. His architecture did not possess a grand posture, but rather an everyday intimacy. You might feel as if you casually encounter this amiable elderly man on the streets of Kaohsiung, just as his works naturally and profoundly integrate into the local area.

Features of this book
● The first systematic review, comprehensively recalling Chen Ren-He's life, background, and creative context, returning to the post-war southern scene, and filling the long-standing gap in Taiwanese architectural history due to the "heavy north, light south" bias.
● A paradigm of Taiwanese regionalism, Chen Ren-He created a free and bold architectural language by integrating Japanese, Chinese, Western, and even Southeast Asian cultures, foreshadowing the mature and diverse direction of Taiwanese architectural culture and serving as an important reference for future development.
● Includes hundreds of exquisite historical photos, architectural images, and field records, deeply analyzing 22 classic works, allowing readers to personally experience how this "pioneer of Taiwanese regionalism" responded to the land, climate, and everyday life through his architecture.