17/11/2025
NTU Hospital Protects Cultural Heritage, Revives Century-Old Symbol of Time
Electric Clock on Main Façade Gable Officially Restored and Launched
https://www.ntuh.gov.tw/ntuh/News.action?l=en_US&q_type=-1&q_itemCode=17921
The “Former Main Building of National Taiwan University Hospital,” designated as a Taipei Municipal Heritage Site, is set to revive its century-old architectural charm. NTU Hospital recently promoted the “Project for Installing an Electric Clock on the Main Façade Gable,” reviving the electric clock originally present upon the building’s completion in 1919.
An inauguration ceremony was held on November 17, 2025, marking the clock’s reinstatement, enabling citizens to once again experience the Taishō-era emphasis on public punctuality. Meanwhile, the preserved original metal dial will officially enter the NTU Hospital Museum’s artifact exhibition system.
✨Restoring the 1919 Architectural Appearance: Preserving Collective Urban Memory
NTU Hospital is currently implementing the “Restoration and Adaptive Reuse Project of the Taipei Municipal Heritage—Former Main Building of National Taiwan University Hospital.” During the restoration process, researchers found that an electric clock had originally been installed on the south-facing main façade gable when the building was completed in 1919; its metal dial remains preserved in the building’s stair tower.
During a review held by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government on March 7, 2023, the question of restoring the clock was raised. After evaluation, the hospital noted that the clock was situated along the main entrance axis, forming a cohesive architectural composition with the ornate gable, while reflecting the Taishō-era promotion of punctuality through public buildings.
Given its cultural significance and contribution to the collective memory of Taipei citizens, the hospital decided to reconstruct the electric clock according to its original form at its original location. The restoration is now complete. The preserved metal dial will enter the NTU Hospital Museum’s exhibition system, continuing the legacy of cultural heritage and allowing the public to engage with its history.
✨Thorough Archival Research: Original Dimensions, Form, and Placement Confirmed
The north and south wings of the former NTU Hospital main building were designed under Jūro Kondō, engineer and chief construction officer at the Civil Engineering and Architecture Division of the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan, with drawings executed by design technician Shigajō Yaita.
According to archival documents from 1917 to 1919 titled Taipei Hospital Building Construction Project, the “Front Electric Clock with Master Clock System” was included among the construction items. The project was contracted to Katsura Shōkai, priced at 310 yen, and was scheduled for completion on March 30, 1919.
Additional visual records from the National Central Library’s Taiwan Studies Digital Collection indicate that a circular electric clock was originally installed on the third-floor gable above the central porch of the building completed in 1919.
The existing metal dial, approximately 140 cm in diameter, features hand-painted black Roman numerals on a white lacquered surface, matching the original design drawings and confirming its authenticity.
✨A New Chapter in Cultural Reuse: History, Medicine, and Urban Life Converge
This replication project not only restores a cultural asset but, through artifact preservation and landscape renewal, transforms the Former Main Building of NTU Hospital into a space integrating medical culture and public education—a shared reservoir of urban memory.
The restored electric clock presents distinctive daytime and nighttime visual expressions on the gable, allowing the public to appreciate two perspectives of historical beauty. NTU Hospital hopes that through the clock’s return, citizens can connect the punctuality culture of a century ago with contemporary life, witnessing the ongoing revitalization and preservation of Taipei’s cultural heritage.
