- Chinese Name: 空總創新基地
- Located At: Taipei City (Northern Taiwan)
- Year of Establishment: 2015
- Did You Know That …?
- The TAF Innovation Base was originally the Industrial Research Institute established by the Japanese Governor's Office of Taiwan in 1939. It was the top research unit for boosting industrial development and fulfilling military needs during the Japanese colonial era.
- English Address: No.177 Jianguo S. Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan (ROC)
- Contact Number: +886-2-2771-8932
- Website: http://taiwanairforce.org/
The TAF Innovation Base is a historic complex that has been repurposed into a multi-functional venue for culture and arts. The property now serves as an innovation incubation center, as well as a platform for interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration, to boost Taiwan's cultural and creative sector.
Before being renamed to the TAF Innovation Base, the property used to be the original site of the ROC Air Force Command Headquarters after the retrocession of Taiwan. The ROC Air Force had served at the site until its relocation to a new site in Dazhi District in 2013. The site was then governed by the Ministry of Finance.
As the site had witnessed history spanning from the industrial development of Taiwan in the Japanese colonial period to the military role of air defense during the post-war era, the Taipei Cultural Heritage Committee designated the site as a historical monument.
After two idle years, then-President Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) of Executive Yuan announced in 2015 that the site would remain as it is, and renamed it to Taiwan Air Force (TAF) Innovation Base to highlight its expected role in boosting Taiwan's innovation economy.
The TAF Innovation Base began with six sections - Innovation Workshop, Technology Village, Social Innovation Village, Maker Village, Art Village, and Historical Heritage - as well as additional exhibition venues and performance halls.
In 2016, the TAF Foundation Base Development Committee agreed to collaborate with the National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF) to build an Art & Culture Village that would integrate the NCAF's networks and resources regarding the business sector to benefit local artists and members of the public.
In addition, it began collaborating with the Ministry of Education at the end of 2016 to establish "FabLab,” a platform offering space and resources for makers in Taiwan to fabricate projects, network, and exchange ideas with other makers. It also serves as the base for the Fab Truck that tours Taiwanese schools across the island to cultivate young makers.
In early 2017, jurisdiction of the TAF Innovation Base was transferred to the Ministry of Culture, which plans to cooperate with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to build Taiwan's first incubation center for young talents in arts and science.
In the future, the site will be used for hosting exhibitions, performances, forums, and workshops, as well as offer accommodation for residence artists and international art groups. The Ministry of Culture will also set up an on-site office to help take projects from concept to market.