Cha Mi Chinese Medicine is located in Songshan District, Taipei — a well-established area bordered by a traditional market to the north and Taipei's core financial district to the south. Unlike typical NHI clinics that place their entrance on the ground floor, this clinic sits on the third floor to protect patient privacy. The interior spans 495 m² / 150 ping and includes a consultation center, a dispensary, dedicated treatment rooms, and a private laboratory.

"Centralization through decentralization" — the problem of "circulation paths running too long because of exam-room planning" is the first challenge this project faces. It is also a problem shared by clinic layouts today, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital — long circulation paths are hard on elderly patients and create blind spots for staff management. The plan uses a satellite layout, removing circulation from the treatment zone and consolidating reception, dispensary, and waiting areas into a centralized circle.

The center circle works like a seed — once it exists, the remaining functions grow around it naturally. A slightly rounded style lowers the psychological pressure of a clinic visit and the cold, clinical feel typical of medical facilities. Materials mix white with the texture of oak, stripping away excess color to leave calm. The main walls step across three different heights, letting light pass through and resolving the exam rooms' lack of daylight.

Worth noting: the registration desk holds six giant test tubes, each planted with a seasonal Chinese medicinal herb, rotated by season. Few people ever see Chinese medicine in its form before it becomes medicine — a plant only enters use as medicine after it dies, yet here it stands alive. That faint contradiction mirrors life and death — and life and death are what a clinic faces every day, like a loop.

Dr. Chen Shun-Ting

Dr. Chen Shun-Ting is an attending physician in radiation oncology and also an attending physician of Chinese medicine at Tzu Chi. After years of practicing medicine, he combines the strengths of Western and Chinese medicine, specializing in pharmacological analysis. He was previously a highly regarded Chinese medicine practitioner in northern Taiwan.