By KHT Staff. Cover and other images via Izzie Pang / La Vie編輯
CHIAYI — JJP Architects & Planners (JJP潘冀聯合建築師事務所) has reportedly won the top prize in the design competition for the Chiayi City Main Library Complex (嘉義市總圖園區), with a proposal that draws on the city’s timber heritage, Alishan forestry history, and the winding form of the Alishan Forest Railway.
According to design materials released this week, JJP’s proposal was selected from 21 entries. The firm said the concept was inspired by what it calls Chiayi’s “two forests” — the Alishan forest and the city’s large concentration of wooden buildings, a legacy of Chiayi’s timber industry during the Japanese colonial period.
Sitting at a point where Chiayi’s waterways, forest history, and rail heritage intersect, the library design will attempt to connect those elements into a single civic landmark.
The project is expected to be completed in 2030 and is part of the Chiayi City Government’s broader “Ten Flagship Projects” initiative, which includes industrial, cultural, educational, ecological, and transportation development.
The library complex falls under the city’s “new cultural base” plan, which aims to link the future main library with the Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park, a cultural park planned for the former Chiayi Tobacco Leaf Factory, and the Family Education Center to form a larger shared cultural district.
Sources: La Vie, March 4, 2026; JJP Architects & Planners; Chiayi City Government.
