AIA Taipei - Contributing to Civil Society: The Social Responsibilities Architects Can Undertake
When: Tuesday 30 December 2025 @ 07:00 (Eastern US Time)/ 19:00 (Taipei time)
Where: Online/In-Person: NTUT Art and Culture Centre, No. 1, Section 3, Zhongxiao East Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City
CES Credits - Estimated 1.0 LU/ HSW for AIA Members
Speaker
Jou Min Lin, President, AIA Taipei I Principal Architect, J.M. Lin Architect / The Observer Design Group
Description
Architectural practice today often places architects at a distance from the very people their work is meant to serve. Whether designing public buildings mediated by government agencies or commercial projects driven by developers and sales teams, architects rarely engage directly with end users. This lecture reflects on the professional, ethical, and social implications of this separation, and questions how architecture can remain meaningful when the “building user” feels remote or invisible.
Drawing from years of professional experience, the speaker explores architecture through the lens of civil society, emphasizing collaboration, shared responsibility, and collective effort. Using the metaphor of Sisyphus, the lecture reframes architectural practice not as a futile struggle, but as a shared ascent—one in which architects, collaborators, and communities push together toward outcomes that are socially responsive, humane, and enduring.
The lecture invites architects, students, and allied professionals to reconsider whom they serve, how they engage the public, and how architectural practice can reclaim its role as a meaningful contributor to society.
Speaker
Jou Min Lin is the principal architect of J.M. Lin Architect, P.C, founded in New York in 1995, and the founder of The Observer Design Group (ODG) in Taipei.
His work spans architecture, urban design, and public space, with a focus on socially and environmentally responsible design. One of his most remarkable achievements is the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology in Keelung, where, from 2004 to 2013, he led the transformation of an old power plant into a vibrant cultural hub for education, recreation and public engagement.
A former Director of the Taipei City Department of Urban Development (2014.2018), Lin led initiatives in public-led urban renewal, social housing, and the Taipei 2050 Vision Plan. Drawing on his expertise in architecture and urban planning, and through close engagement with local communities, he worked to advance housing justice and to shape a more livable future for Taipei.
Other notable projects he has undertaken include Tainan’s first social housing development, student dormitories at National Chengchi University and National Taiwan University, the Yuanshan Urban Renewal Project in Taipei, and the Hualien Main Public Library, the phased planning and design of the Hualien Cultural Park, and the he design and construction supervision of the Tainan Railway Undergrounding Greenway Development Project, continuing his commitment to environmentally and socially responsible design.
In 2021, Lin received the Special Contribution to National Land Development Award from the National Excellent Construction Awards Committee.
