Experimental Wood Workshop

The Chiayi Experimental Wood Workshop was formerly a group of old prison dormitories, which had been abandoned for over a decade and had fallen into disrepair. In recent years, the city government launched the "Re-enacting the Timber City: Revitalizing Historical Sites Project." As part of this, two four-unit dormitory buildings, totaling eight households, were transformed into the Experimental Wood Workshop. This is Chiayi City's first experimental woodworking factory, serving as a base for industry, government, and academia to conduct experiments, exchange ideas, and cultivate talent in the timber industry. The goal is to highlight and promote Chiayi City's unique characteristics as a 'Timber City.' The Experimental Wood Workshop is centrally located within the old Chiayi prison dormitory complex. It utilizes two four-unit Japanese-style dormitories, reassembled and designed to create two distinctive timber-framed practical areas: the North Building and the South Building. The North Building preserves the remnants and appearance of the Japanese-style dormitories. Using structural design techniques, traditional timber frames have been transformed into innovative wooden spaces, incorporating modern seismic-resistant timber construction methods to enhance the support and earthquake resistance of traditional wooden architecture. The South Building is based on the Japanese-style dormitories but features innovative new timber materials and structural designs. Its large-span structure provides a spacious interior. The South Building functions as a woodworking factory, while the North Building will serve as a space for research, teaching, and exhibitions, allowing both buildings to showcase the fusion and dialogue between old and new timber construction techniques.