Construction work is underway at the $216 million Taipei office project for The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
Located in Taipei’s eastern district of Neihu, the project will replace AIT’s current 60-year-old compound in downtown Taipei. The 6.5 hectare new office compound has been in planning for more than a decade. It will feature 15,000-square meters of office buildings that will house all AIT’s Taipei facilities including the Agricultural Trade and Commercial offices, the American Cultural Center, and the Chinese Language School.
The project will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified and will incorporate various green practices. The entire structure will be built on 14 per cent of the maximum 40 per cent of land upon which it is allowed to build, according to officials. All construction materials, except for special items such as security doors and windows, will be purchased locally.
It will also meet international design, construction and operation standards for high performance ‘green’ buildings. Solar panels, most of which will be made in Taiwan, will be featured throughout the complex, generating around 15 per cent of the total electricity demand of the compound. The buildings will also incorporate rainwater for irrigation of its grounds and will preserve most of the existing vegetation on the site.
According to the officials, the design of the project will not be limited to the standard U.S. embassy design program announced by the State Department in 2002 that produced ‘boxy, prison-like embassies’.
Currently the soil preparation segment of the project is underway. Planned to be constructed in phases, the first phase will last close to 30 months during which all elements except the main building will be constructed.
The entire project is expected to be ready by early 2015.
