Buildings are more than artifacts of human history; they are quiet witnesses to that history, repositories of stories, places of reconnection, and potential sites of renewal. The authors and photographers of the Old House Face Studio bring us an in-depth, full-color tour of such architectural landmarks all over Taiwan.

Buildings are more than artifacts of human history; they are also quiet witnesses to that history, repositories of stories, places of reconnection, and potential sites of renewal. Their features reflect the unseen choices of our ancestors and ourselves. A building that has survived through decades or even centuries in a place like Taiwan can tell stories of several different worlds.

This exposition of old Taiwanese buildings by the artists of the Old House Face Studio gives these old sentinels a new voice via in-depth interviews, travelogues, extensive research, and a rich array of photographs. The first section focuses on several distinctive features of older buildings from the Japanese occupation onwards, such as decorative wrought-iron window grilles, ornamental concrete screen bricks, and magnetic tiles, each of which represents a branch of craftsmanship come and gone amid social development. The book’s second section dives more deeply into human narrative, as the authors interview the people whose lives have been shaped by these buildings.

By pairing visual with textual imagery, the authors of Old House Face unite the historical and contemporary significance of beautiful old buildings all over Taiwan, and provided aficionados an exciting guide to Taiwanese historical architecture.