In line with a new trend of international conferences and events being hosted in special venues, nonconventional special facilities in Taiwan are being made available. For example, events such as the Taipei World Design Expo 2011 and 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition were hosted in renovated and re-utilized historical venues such as the Songshan Cultural & Creative Park, Huashan 1914 Creative Park, and Flora EXPO Dome. This adds new interest to organizing international conferences and events, as it allows visitors to experience Taiwan in a unique way. This also represents a way to diversify and expand Taiwan’s MICE hardware facilities beyond the existing conventional facilities and new ones still under construction such as the Taiwan Pavilion Park in Hsinchu, the Kaohsiung World Trade Center, and Nangang Exhibition Hall 2.

Songshan Cultural & Creative Park: Emphasis on Tradition and Creativity
Songshan Cultural & Creative Park (originally Songshan Tobacco Factory) is a standalone 2-story building that occupies 14876.1 m2. It measures approximately 165 meters east to west and 93 meters north to south. In the courtyard is a Baroque-style garden ideal for hosting reception cocktail parties or welcoming banquets. Taipei World Design Expo 2011 utilized Songshan Cultural & Creative Park’s Warehouses 1 to 5 and the tobacco factory as its exhibition space. In addition to the exhibition entitled, “In Bliss”, this event also included various other international exhibitions over the course of one month, including the “International Industrial Design Exhibition,” “International Interior Design Exhibition,” “International Graphic Design Exhibition,” “International Craft Design Exhibition,” and the “Interdisciplinary Creative Works on Asia’s Cultural Creativity Exhibition.” Taipei World Design Expo 2011 used venues such as the Songshan Cultural & Creative Park, TWTC Exhibition Hall 1, and Nangang Exhibition Hall, and it drew more than 1.3 million visitors.

Flora EXPO Dome: Emphasis on Environmental and Ecological Concepts
The Flora EXPO Dome, which made a dazzling entry during the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, is another example of how an old, rundown location was reutilized. The entire Dome occupies an area of 6,000 m2. Combining the advantage of convenient public transportation with tourism resources in the surrounding area such as the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts, National Palace Museum, Shilin Night Market, Grand Hotel, and so on, the Flora EXPO Dome has successfully made its transition into a meeting and conference center. The Taipei City Government Department of Economic Development has now taken over management of the facility and regularly hosts large exhibitions there, like the 2011 3rd Annual Taipei Food Festival & World Championship of Cookery and Taiwan Indigenous Industry Expo.

Huashan 1914 Creative Park: Where Creative Energies are Concentrated
Yet another reutilized historical site in the heart of Taipei City is Huashan 1914 Creative Park. It was formerly the Taipei Wine Factory, and at the time of its construction in 1914, it was one of the largest wine factories in Taiwan. From 1999 onwards, the Taipei Wine Factory was officially renamed “Huashan 1914 Creative Park,” and it was defined as a park for creative design workshops and exhibition centers. The park covers a total region of 7.21 hectares and is filled with historical sites and architecture. The site is divided into outdoor and indoor areas. Outdoors, there are performance areas and green lawns in the park. The nearly 13,220 m2 of indoor space retains the original factory design of high ceilings and wide spaces. Buildings include the plum wine factory, liqueur workshop, packaging room, four connected rice wine workshop buildings, the fruit wine building, sake workshop, and more. There is much flexibility in the space available for event planning. For example, there are large exhibition spaces which exceed 3300 m2, while smaller venues can also be found for medium-to-small art performances, screening rooms for artistic films, theme exhibitions, and sales spaces. There is also a 265 m2 venue that can serve as a gallery or location for a small press release. Because of Huashan 1914 Creative Park’s large area and central Taipei location, it is highly suited to host meetings and conferences. The unique spatial planning turns conventional meeting and exhibition demands upside-down while also combining them with the energy of Taiwan’s creative design to instill original new concepts into events. Major events hosted here in the past include the Taipei World Design Expo 2011, 2011 Taipei Toy Festival, and new product releases and experience events for corporations such as ASUS, Sony, etc.

SPOT-Taipei Film House: A Focus of Art and Culture in the City
The SPOT-Taipei Film House was formerly the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Taipei. It was constructed in 1926, and this nearly ninety-year-old, Western-style two-story building occupies an area of approximately 1240 m2. The building’s plans include the SPOT cinema, exhibition hall, multifunctional art lobby, and an outdoor garden café to accommodate a maximum of 100 to 200 people. Events hosted here include the opening of the Canadian Human Rights Film Festival, cocktail party for the Absolute Fellini Film Festival, cocktail party and film premier ceremony for the Latin American Film Festival, and releases of various new products. Due to its excellent location near several five-star hotels, international boutique streets, and a Taipei MRT stop, it provides both meeting and shopping functionality. This better provides corporations and business organizations with a one-stop solution for incentive travel services.

National Theater and Concert Hall Plaza: A Platform for Arts and Culture
The National Theater and Concert Hall is a world-class performance art center. Besides providing a space for world renowned art and cultural performances, the National Theater & Concert Hall also have more than 1322 m2 of outdoor space that includes the Main Plaza, Theater Terrace, Concert Hall Terrace, and Terrace. These locations are suitable for outdoor concerts, stage performances, artist markets, product releases, and other events. An example of a creative use of this exhibition space is how Louis Vuitton hosted a fashionable party with more than 2,000 attendees in the Main Plaza during the grand opening of its flagship store in Taipei.