Tjualijicaq a Kakipakakudanan

Located in Daren Township, Taitung County, the Sinka Community Centre continues the Daren Activity Centre series’ response to East Paiwan culture and the natural environment. Taking “a vessel for shared tribal life” as its core concept, the project re-establishes an important local hub for daily gatherings, cultural exchange, public services, and disaster refuge. The former activity centre had served the villagers for many years, but after repeated natural disasters and long-term wear, it gradually suffered from structural deterioration, insufficient space, and limited functionality. The new centre is therefore not merely a replacement for an ageing building but a reorganisation of public life within the community.

The building is conceived as a flexible platform between daily life and ritual, education and care, exchange and refuge. In ordinary times, it serves as a place for villagers’ gatherings, tribal classrooms, elderly care, local administration, and various community activities. In times of disaster, it can be transformed into a safe, spacious refuge with emergency shelter functions, strengthening the community’s resilience against typhoons, heavy rainfall, and other natural hazards. Through an open and adaptable spatial arrangement, the architecture responds to the changing needs of population outflow, ageing communities, and local public services, while also creating a new civic space for youth participation and intergenerational exchange.

An eagle copper sculpture is installed on the building façade, responding to the spiritual symbolism of the Mountain Hawk-Eagle as an embodiment of ancestral spirits in Paiwan culture. In dialogue with the building’s massing, material textures, and semi-outdoor spaces, the sculpture allows ancestral imagery to become naturally embedded in everyday life. It is not merely a decorative element on the façade, but a contemporary expression of tribal memory, ethnic identity, and cultural spirit.

While providing shelter for the villagers, the Xinhua Activity Centre also carries forward local cultural resilience, collective memory, and an imagination toward the future. More than a public building that offers protection from wind and rain, it becomes an important place for strengthening community bonds, carrying culture, and supporting the continued development of local life.