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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Farglory responsible for damage to museum: Ko
Visitors enter the Red Dot Design Museum at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
RETREAT: Red Dot Design Museum executive director Joy Cheng said the city should correct the problems before they force the organization to leave the nation
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je （柯文哲） yesterday said the city’s Red Dot Design Museum was damaged by construction of the nearby Taipei Dome project, whose developer has a responsibility to pay for the repairs.
The museum in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park has been developing cracks because of its proximity to the Taipei Dome construction site, Ko said.
The city’s Cultural Affairs Department is to discuss the issue with the Farglory Group （遠雄集團）, the company building the Taipei Dome project, he said, after the museum on Sunday threatened to pull out of Taiwan if the city did not address the matter.
On Aug. 12, the museum submitted a report to the city government’s Department of Cultural Affairs complaining about the poor location and problems including cracks in the walls, water leakage, buckling of its floors and excessive noise, which it said were generated by the construction of the nearby Taipei Dome.
The museum also said five of its displays had been damaged due to the construction work.
The accusations could represent a major blow to the reputation of Taipei, which was designated as next year’s World Design Capital and is set to host a series of international events next year to celebrate its transformation and showcase its creativity to the world.
Museum executive director Joy Cheng （鄭雯瑄） said Taiwan had long lacked an exhibition hall dedicated to design, and it took a lot of effort to launch the Red Dot Design Museum in Taipei.
However, one of the most authoritative international design organizations now might pull out of Taiwan because of the venue’s poor condition and the Department of Cultural Affairs’ failure to conduct repairs, Cheng said.
She said the department, in this case functioning as landlord, should meet its obligations to repair and manage the venue instead of waiting for the results of negotiations with the Farglory Group over the fate of the project.
The Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is currently managed by the Taipei Culture Foundation under commission by the Department of Cultural Affairs, while the Taiwan Design Center rents the venue to Red Dot.
The Department of Cultural Affairs yesterday said that the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park has suffered severe damage, because the historic site cannot withstand the effects of construction work on the Taipei Dome.
The department promised to do its best to help repair the Red Dot Design Museum.
Meanwhile, the Farglory Group yesterday said that it will investigate whether the damage at the museum was caused by the Taipei Dome construction work or it was due to existing problems.
If the damage was caused by the construction, Farglory will not shirk its responsibility and will immediately repair the historic site, the business group said.
The Red Dot Design Museum in Taipei is the world’s third Red Dot museum. There is one in Essen, Germany, and another in Singapore.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
