MAISON ACME | Yuanshan Villa Introduction
During the Japanese colonial period, Chen Chao-chun, a tea merchant from Dadaocheng in Taipei and the owner of Yong Yu Tea House, built a Tudor-style villa by the Keelung River in the Yuanshan area of Taipei City in 1913, completed in 1914. This house served as a gathering place for Taiwan's gentry, political figures, and tea merchants from various countries, as well as a vacation and meeting spot for his family members. Chen Chao-chun was the president of the Taipei Tea Merchants Association and one of the important figures in the thriving tea industry in Taiwan at the time. When this house was completed, it was during the Japanese rule, when the government aimed to establish Taiwan as a center of politics, finance, and academic education, systematically expanding the streets of Taipei and paving tree-lined boulevards around the city. Various European architectural styles were introduced and mixed, giving Taiwan's architecture of this era a highly intricate characteristic. The house built by Chen Chao-chun was constructed in this prevailing trend. After Chen's death in 1923, the house changed hands several times and underwent numerous transformations. After World War II, it served as the residence of former Legislative Yuan President Huang Kuo-shu. In 1979, it was purchased by the Taipei City Government, which temporarily used the site as the North District Station of the Park Street Light Management Office for administrative purposes and equipment storage. In December 1987, it was officially handed over to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum for management, and in 1990, the "Artist Exchange Center" was established. In 1998, it was designated as a historic site, and research and restoration work began subsequently. Under the concept of adaptive reuse of historic sites, between April 19, 2003, and April 18, 2015, the site was adopted by Ms. Chen Kuo-tzu, who sponsored the establishment of the "Taipei Story House," aimed at introducing Taiwan's life culture and promoting the adaptive reuse of historic sites. Through various activities and exhibitions, the public could easily connect with the historic site, giving it new life. Since May 2015, the Kuomuzheng Cultural Foundation has continued to operate the Taipei Story House, focusing on food, clothing, housing, transportation, and entertainment, planning related thematic exhibitions and cultural events, and promoting tea culture, continuing the storytelling at the "Taipei Story House." Simultaneously, they engage the surrounding community, citizens, and social resources in preserving the historic site and promoting cultural heritage education, extending the history of this century-old house. The Taipei Story House is a rare example of Tudor-style half-timbered architecture in Taiwan. The first floor features brick walls as load-bearing structures, while the entrance is marked by Ionic columns. The second floor is of wooden construction, with curved, vertical, and horizontal wooden slats creating a beautiful branch-like design on the outer walls. The Gothic-style tower and chimney are constructed of brick, with the tower's roof having a curved eave covered in copper tiles, which have patinated over the years, leaving traces of time. The tower above the entrance is adorned with stained glass in green, yellow, and red. Inside, there are two elegantly shaped fireplaces and many Art Nouveau-style relief tiles and chandeliers popular in the early 20th century, featuring nature and floral patterns. The overall interior space arrangement, as well as the outdoor balconies and terraces, closely integrates with the surrounding landscape, showcasing an elegant style. In 2021, the ACME team officially took over the management of the designated historic site, Yuanshan Villa (formerly Taipei Story House). Built in 1913, this rare Tudor-style building quietly stands by the Keelung River, crossing over a century's worth of refinement. It has been the mansion of legendary tea merchants from Dadaocheng and a social center for top artists and literary giants of its time. We are redefining it as a modern exhibition space that blends the old and the new.
