The renovation of Taipei Underground Mall's Y26 Entrance marks the first step in a broader plan to renew the 28 entrances along Civic Boulevard. Rather than replacing what exists, the design team takes on the role of an urban doctor — through minimal intervention, reawakening each entrance's own story. A transparent structural enclosure re-establishes the visual connection between the street and the underground shopping district, improving visibility while encouraging movement between the two levels. Embedded within the structure is a reference to the century-old roof of the Railway Department, localizing a narrative between history and the present.
Originally constructed in the early 1980s, Y26 had gradually become constrained by ageing infrastructure and unclear circulation.
The redesign addresses these conditions through openness rather than addition. Increased transparency improves orientation, daylight, and the perception of safety, allowing the entrance to once again become an inviting threshold between the city above and the public spaces below.
