在台灣戰後的建築史上，有一個名字如同流星般耀眼，卻又長期被主流歷史所忽略，直到近年才重新被年輕世代的建築迷所追捧。她是修澤蘭（Xiu Zelan）。想像一下，在 1950 到 1960 年代那個絕對父權、且由男性主導的營造業現場，一位身穿合身旗袍、氣質優雅的女性，手拿藍圖，指揮著成群的工人和工程師。這不僅是當時的一道奇景，更是台灣建築史上最溫柔也最堅毅的傳奇。
In the post-war architectural history of Taiwan, one name shines like a meteor, yet was long overlooked by mainstream history until recently being rediscovered by a younger generation of architecture enthusiasts. She is Xiu Zelan. Imagine, in the 1950s and 60s—an era of absolute patriarchy dominated by men in the construction industry—an elegant woman in a fitted Cheongsam, blueprints in hand, commanding crowds of workers and engineers. This was not just a spectacle of the times; it was the gentlest yet most resilient legend in Taiwan's architectural history.
修澤蘭出生於中國湖南，畢業於中央大學建築系，這是當時中國建築教育的最高殿堂。1949 年，她隨著國民政府來到台灣，最初任職於鐵路局。然而，她並沒有甘於在這個體制內安穩退休。憑藉著過人的才華與膽識，她很快獨立開業，並迅速成為當時台灣最炙手可熱的建築師。這在當時幾乎是不可想像的：一個女性，竟然能操刀國家級的大型建案，甚至被蔣中正總統特別欽點。她打破了性別的玻璃天花板，不是透過抗議，而是透過無可挑剔的作品。
Born in Hunan, China, Xiu Zelan graduated from the Department of Architecture at National Central University, the pinnacle of architectural education in China at the time. In 1949, she came to Taiwan with the Nationalist government and initially worked for the Taiwan Railways Administration. However, she was not content to retire quietly within the system. With exceptional talent and courage, she soon established her own practice and quickly became one of the most sought-after architects in Taiwan. This was almost unimaginable at the time: a woman handling major national projects, even being handpicked by President Chiang Kai-shek. She shattered the glass ceiling not through protest, but through impeccable work.
修澤蘭的風格在當時的台灣是極度前衛且與眾不同的。當時的主流建築受限於經濟與技術，多半是強調機能、外觀方正的現代主義「方盒子」。但修澤蘭不同，她不僅僅是工程師，更是一位藝術家。她深受西方「表現主義（Expressionism）」與「復古未來主義（Retro-Futurism）」的影響，極度迷戀曲線、螺旋與圓形。
Xiu Zelan's style was radically avant-garde and distinct in Taiwan at that time. Mainstream architecture, constrained by economy and technology, mostly consisted of functional, boxy Modernist structures. But Xiu was different; she was not just an engineer, but an artist. Influenced by Western Expressionism and Retro-Futurism, she was obsessed with curves, spirals, and circles.
她的建築彷彿拒絕直角。她喜歡使用旋轉樓梯、圓形拱門、以及飛揚的屋簷線條。在她的作品中，混凝土不再是冰冷的方塊，而是可以被揉捏、塑形的雕塑材料。這種風格被後世戲稱為「外星飛碟」或「太空時代（Space Age）」風格，但在當時，那是她對未來美好生活的一種浪漫想像。她試圖在剛硬的現代主義中，注入女性特有的柔韌與流動感。
Her architecture seemed to reject right angles. She favored spiral staircases, circular arches, and soaring rooflines. In her works, concrete was not a cold block but a sculptural material that could be molded and shaped. This style was later playfully dubbed "UFO style" or "Space Age" aesthetics, but at the time, it was her romantic imagination of a better future life. She attempted to inject a uniquely feminine resilience and fluidity into rigid Modernism.
若要尋訪修澤蘭的足跡，有幾個關鍵的地標絕對不能錯過。首先是位於陽明山的中山樓（Chung-Shan Hall）。這是她最著名的「官方」作品，也是印在舊版新台幣一百元鈔票上的建築。雖然這棟建築外觀是為了迎合當時「中華文化復興運動」的宮殿式樣，但在內部結構與空間佈局上，她克服了硫磺氣與火山地形的極高難度，展現了驚人的工程實力。
To trace Xiu Zelan's footsteps, there are several key landmarks you must not miss. First is the Chung-Shan Hall on Yangmingshan. This is her most famous "official" work, the building printed on the old NT$100 banknote. Although the exterior was designed in a palatial style to cater to the "Chinese Cultural Renaissance Movement" of the time, the internal structure and spatial layout demonstrate her amazing engineering prowess in overcoming the extreme difficulties of sulfur gas and volcanic terrain.
然而，更能代表她個人意志的，其實是位於新店的花園新城（Garden City）。這是台灣第一個仿美式的山坡地社區。修澤蘭在這裡實現了她的烏托邦夢想：蜿蜒的道路、依山而建的白色洋房、巨大的半圓形入口意象。這裡曾經是台北文人雅士與中產階級嚮往的夢幻家園，雖然如今已顯斑駁，但你依然能從那些殘存的曲線中，看出她當年對於「理想居住環境」的宏大敘事。
However, what better represents her personal will is the Garden City in Xindian. This was Taiwan's first American-style hillside community. Here, Xiu realized her utopian dream: winding roads, white houses built along the hillside, and a massive semi-circular entrance monument. This was once the dream home for Taipei's intellectuals and middle class. Although it appears weathered today, you can still see her grand narrative of an "ideal living environment" in those remaining curves.
此外，她為許多學校設計的建築，更是無數台灣學子的共同記憶。例如景美女中（Jingmei Girls' High School）與蘭陽女中（Lan-Yang Girls' Senior High School）。她將校舍設計得像藝術館，運用大量的格柵、圓窗與迴廊，創造出通透的光影效果。她認為，教育的場所不應該是嚴肅的兵營，而應該是充滿美感與啟發性的空間。這種透過建築來進行美感教育的理念，在當年是非常超前的。
In addition, the buildings she designed for many schools are the collective memories of countless Taiwanese students. For example, Jingmei Girls' High School and Lan-Yang Girls' Senior High School. She designed school buildings like art galleries, using extensive lattices, round windows, and corridors to create transparent light and shadow effects. She believed that places of education should not be solemn barracks but spaces full of beauty and inspiration. This concept of aesthetic education through architecture was visionary at the time.
CORE 給朋友的深層視角 A Deeper Perspective for Friends
我想和你分享一個心得：在欣賞修澤蘭的建築時，請不要只看那些老舊的混凝土外牆。試著去想像六十年前，一位女性如何在男人的世界裡，堅持要把樓梯做成旋轉的、把屋頂做成飛揚的。她的建築是那個威權與保守年代裡的「叛逆」，也是台灣現代化過程中，一段最優雅的插曲。當你在台北街頭看到那些帶有奇特曲線、有點像太空船的老房子，多看一眼，那可能是修澤蘭留給這座城市的溫柔情書。
I want to share a thought with you: when appreciating Xiu Zelan's architecture, don't just look at the old concrete walls. Try to imagine, sixty years ago, how a woman in a man's world insisted on making staircases spiral and roofs soar. Her architecture was a form of "rebellion" in that authoritarian and conservative era, and a most elegant interlude in Taiwan's modernization process. When you see those old houses with peculiar curves, looking a bit like spaceships on the streets of Taipei, take a second look. That might be a gentle love letter Xiu Zelan left to this city.