SOGO & City hall

'All that glitters is not gold' - Entrance to the SOGO department store.

'Architectus Monolithus' - Unfortunately it was too far to the front door for me to ask what building this was but no doubt all will be revealed in due course. It was actually quite an impressive building extending rearward for at least 200m.

Update: Architectus Monolithus is actually the new civic centre building for government employees from where Taichung city is governed. Measuring the building on Google Earth gives it a length of about 270m which would have made quite a skyscraper had they put it on its end. Surprisingly it is more impressive lying on its side and less intimidating. It has won a number of awards. I missed out walking down its side but it is constructed like a giant arch so that you can walk underneath and through it to the other side. I like it, though more grass and less concrete and I might have given it 10/10. The architects have created something that is visually impressive but they have once again forgotten the human element so that even the trees look like the plastic versions they stick on their models. Yes guys you know its true...

civic centre video

The new...

...and the old city halls