Seriously though, if 95% percent of all buildings here were knocked down and rebuilt modern (except the already new ones, and maybe leave a few old ones for history reasons) then just how much better would it be. Could put in proper sewers in the process and replace all the water pipes with stainless steel or pvc pipes thats safe to drink out of. See all the new construction in tamsui, if the whole nation was like that then that would be good.
Good luck. Not sure if you were here for the Wang family protests:
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Yeah then sh*t modern high rise buildings losing all the traditional history and culture like Singapore. Just another big city with no feeling.
Keep as much as possible, just refurbish and remodel, separate the historic areas and the new and modern districts, go to the older neighborhoods and remodel the sewers and plumbing and safety requirements but maintain the originality culture and tradition.
It’s the last of what it is.
Hell knock down Notre Dame and the Pantheon and Jerusalem and anything old and everything else, put in new buildings yeah good idea.
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Actually, plenty of the old buildings have a lot of charm. They are just badly maintained. Covered in sheet metal bullshit and ugly ass signs. When you go through a slightly more upmarket area the old gong yus look pretty chill.
The only thing is, if you live in one you have to take the stairs. Which is just a horrible horrible thing.
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There’s plenty that can be done with a lot of the old gongyu. They can be fixed up. I have a couple of examples I have seen , see if I can find a before and after.
There’s even folks adding elevators to the outside of them so old folks can still use them.
In some cases though I would agree with obliterating entire blocks and starting again. They are not Notre Dame. 
True. Some of the old 店面 that have been turned into cool restaurants, cafes, shops, pubs, etc. look great and give Taiwan a unique charm. Now if they’d only fix up the upper floors…
A good example is the TaiHu taproom in Taichung (minus needing to fix up the upper floors):
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It’s funny how I’ve changed my mind on this one. I used to think Taipei and Taiwan was ugly. Now I appreciate it.
And I’ve lived in Singapore and been through that emptiness created from destroying what’s old and replacing with new.
Paris did it, and now it’s a baroque wasteland.
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If we look at these photos we can see how the fixer uppers. In many cases they just have to Rip out the bars and shit on the facade, replace the windows, replace the doors. Maybe paint it up or replaster…
The first one has already been fully fixed up and now looks great, especially at night time.
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I canny agree with that Paris is amazing. 
The problem comes from each apartment having a different owner so it’s hard to get them to redo them , the govt should offer a better tax incentive so they can redo the bars and windows.
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Curious to see it finished. Maybe I’ll take a walk by there when I have a chance.
Remove all the tiles. Paint the forumosa icon on all buildings.
Yeah if I remember rightly it is. But it may be government/state co property that is why it could be fixed up easier. There is another even better example nearby I am looking for it. 
But some places definitely need to be knocked down. Like the infamous building on the corner of ZhongXiao East and ZhongShan North roads.
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My biggest gripe is the stupid white bathroomy tiles on facades. The hell is up with those? Get rid of those and the century old grime on them and I’m cool with it. How difficult can it be?
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Putting a wrecking ball into some of these places would be one of the worlds most satisfying jobs.
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This building used to be falling apart, the ugliest concrete block you can find. Liaoning street area as well. It was not knocked down , just renovated it.
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Somebody needs to pay for it. The old people that live here and own the apartments often don’t like to pay for that stuff. Many of them are hoping for ‘dugeng’ to knock them down.
Are you kidding? That monstrosity is a photographer’s dream, and its ugliness has even made it a tourist attraction. That would be like tearing down the Eiffel Tower.
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This was what it used to look like . I would have fixed it up a bit closer to its original style myself.
It was an old government workers dormitory. That is why they could do up the whole building , even then it took ten years at least !