A scarcity of land, the prohibitively expensive price of housing in metropolitan Taipei, along with a lack of space in modern residential buildings (condominium), have changed the traditional family structure of this city. Moreover, with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, Taipei's population increasingly manifests all the hallmarks of an aging society.
This situation can be contrasted with developments in the emerging and developing São Tomé and, Príncipe, a lusophone African country in the Gulf of Guinea. An excess of urban and rural land, has interacted over time with a distinctive socioeconomic pattern, thereby producing a basic form of accommodation: a wooden house known as as a cubata.
Although commendable in terms of their ready availability, when assessed from a residential viewpoint, it becomes apparent that many of these dwellings are unsatisfactory. These shortcomings are compounded by the fact that they do not meet the need for a subdivision of the space they occupy throughout their lifespan.
Research was conducted on the socio-economic and cultural context of the residential buildings in São Tomé, Príncipe, and Taiwan. Evidently, the cubata and the condominium are the typical residential building of these respective countries. In each case, the principle of the Open Building was assimilated into the design in an attempt to minimize the spatial problem and social interaction among residents of Taipei city condominium.
The Open Building’s decision levels (support and infill) were implemented in order to increase the flexibility of space for the occupants benefit. There were alsosocial, economic, and cultural considerations that had to be balanced with the needs of each specific case.

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