Dongcun Dormitory Introduction
The "Nanzhuang East Village Dormitory" was established in the 10th year of the Showa era (1935) and was remodeled in the 15th year of the Showa era (1940). Its original name was "Nanzhuang Brain Storage Aggregation Office," which in Japanese means an office for managing the collection and distribution of brain material. The initial planning included a layout comprising a storage warehouse, a director's office, and a supervisor's dormitory. In 2007, in response to local preservation calls, the Miaoli County Government evaluated the dormitory as an ancillary building related to forestry, deemed a significant case in Taiwan's industrial historical architecture, and an important building from the Japanese occupation period in Miaoli County. It is currently well-preserved, surrounded by beautiful landscapes, and has high value for preservation and reuse, leading to its designation as a historic building on June 14 of that year. This historic building currently retains only the director's dormitory, the supervisor's dormitory, a bathroom, and a toilet. It consists of one floor connected by three buildings. The architectural features include a mixed-use building for both office and residential purposes, and it is one of the few remaining small public bathhouse buildings for residential use in Taiwan. The building layout consists of an L-shaped office combined with the director's dormitory, a U-shaped single building for the supervisor's dormitory, and another separate building for the public bathroom and toilet for dormitory use. The roof retains traditional Japanese "oni head" and "oni tile" designs at the ridges, while the rafters are of a gabled form. The exterior walls are made of unpressed "armored exposed" rain panels, with the foundation built of brick and elevated floors. This structure holds significant value for cultural heritage preservation. This site aims to preserve local historical memory, connect and expand tourism routes in Nanzhuang. In 2018, it completed the allocation for this historic building and actively pursued restoration and reuse. It continues to operate under a "cultural tourism" model, linking nearby tourist attractions around Nanzhuang Old Street and diverse cycling routes in Shitou Mountain, enriching the overall cultural tourism characteristics of Nanzhuang, allowing the historical significance of the building to be conveyed and continued through visitor engagement.
