Conclusion

豬舍
(Red brick)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Now the Chiayi Prison has been preserved, thanks to the efforts of Teacher Chiu, Mr. Chen Shih-an, Mr. Yu Kuo-hsin, and many others, and it has been elevated to the rank of a national historical monument. The Old Chiayi Prison was the only nationally ranked historical monument of Chiayi City, but it was far less well-known than the city-level historical monuments such as Chiayi Train Station, Chiayi West Gate Presbyterian Church, and Chiayi Cheng-huang Temple. Perhaps it was because of the cold and tall walls, or perhaps it was the closed doors that have isolated it from the world, making it a corner that has been forgotten.

竹木舞壁的泥土剝落
Concrete with straw mixed in
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Chiayi Prison is Taiwan's last remaining Pennsylvania Style prison. The most unique fan-shaped structure not only control movement of prisoners, but also naturally prevents them from escaping. This kind of radial design seems simple but is profoundly wise and intricate. In 1994, the new Chiayi prison was completed, and after the inmates were moved, the Old Chiayi Prison because the Chiayi Branch Prison, and suddenly became silent, and at the same time began to produce building maintenance problems. More seriously, the damage of these buildings became embroiled in a malignant cycle that became more serious.

工場屋簷破損
(Roof of factory)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Even though the Old Chiayi Prison as been designated a nationally ranked historical monument, there are still people who object to this, because the land had been designated expansion grounds for the Chiayi University. Now that Chiayi Prison is located in a region with developmental potential, it can use the designation as a national historical monument to protect itself from being demolished. It has also been planned to become a prison museum; this is a successful case of revitalizing and re-usage of a historical monument, and now it has a bright future. Decades worth of curiosity allow people to scale the walls to appreciate this prison; but their vision cannot just explore the walls. Now, we must consider how to further revitalize and use, and market and promote this prison after it has been appropriately renovated. We also need to increase the fame of Chiayi Prison as a national historical monument.

Now the Old Chiayi Prison is facing some major challenges, summarized as follows

  • Insufficient renovation budget:

五金被油漆覆蓋,木頭腐敗
(Iron door)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Due to serious damage, repairing the roof tiles already took 11% of the total budget. The wood structure, difficult to repair, even takes up approximately 40% of the budget. Now, half of the huge budget has already been used up. It could be seen that the funds could only barely be used on constructions and renovations; future construction and usage would become more difficult.

  • Inadequate repair technique:

(嚴重倒塌的豬舍)
(Pig pen)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Due to problems in the previous efforts of repair in terms of attitude and technique, they did not fully abide by repair principles, so that repairs have caused more shortcomings and problems. Because of this, the current architect responsible not only has to consider problems that have not been thought of before, but also has to clean up after the new problems created by past repairs.

  • Poor repair efficiency:

五金金屬被油漆覆蓋
(Iron door)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Even though the seriousness of prison damage has already been noticed, and professional architects have been recruited to be responsible for the repairs, it has been a long time, and the damage has become more serious. If there could have been work done earlier, it would have lessened the current work budget and number of repairs to be made.

  • Difficulty in maintenance of wooden construction materials:

天花板破裂,得見外部
(Ceiling)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Since it was constructed by the Japanese, wood was the primary construction material. The constructed houses were not less sturdy than our steel beams and concrete with our current technology, but the damages to wood would be a lot more serious than steel and concrete. Problems such as termites, corroded wood, cracks, and bends mean that renovations would be more difficult than the original construction.

  • Insufficient support from the publicv:

雨淋版損壞
Damage to weather board
(picture source:photo by this team)

  Past images of the prison all tend to be dark; even current television shows about prison are all about the lack of humanity – officers beating inmates, or about inmates beating officers. In order to attract more people to visit, it is necessary to improve the mistaken ideas of people, so that they can see spring at the prison, which is full of life and able to be personally experienced.

  • Revitalization and reuse are not far:

工場的屋頂殘破不堪
(Roof of factory)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  This shows how difficult it is to make repairs after damage. Without human activity, the speed of damage increases. Therefore, after renovations and opening to the public, it is hoped that people can preserve and cherish it as much as possible. As long as people do not contribute to the damage, later renovations are not difficult.

  • Poor initial promotion:

損壞的屋簷,剝落的油漆
(Damage to roof)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  In the past, mass communications were not as convenient as it is now, so it was impossible to smoothly promote the honor of the national historical monument. There was insufficient promotion, and people were not inspired. In the past, if there were a lot of people who were concerned about this building, those in positions of authority would have placed more emphasize its maintenance and preservation. If it had received earlier protection and repair, development would have been much better and faster than it is now.

 

木頭凹凸不平,破損嚴重
(Damage to roof)
(picture source:photo by this team)

  We produced all of these articles after months of hard work. In the past we were also people who just passed by the prison. Now, due to the study, we have become frequent visitors of the Old Prison. During this period, the team continuously searched for information, read dissertations, listened to speeches, conducted on-site investigations, considered past historical development and surveyed current problems in repair, and planned for future development of the Old Prison. We wrote down and integrated all that we saw, heard, and felt. When proposing analytical reports and conclusions, we saw the Old Prison and all its challenges. We hope that people would be inspired and spring into action, to protect this precious historical and cultural asset together.
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