High Street Italia Taipei brings bamboo and Italian design to a former bathhouse
At Songshan Cultural and Creative Park through March 26, 2027, free-entry displays connect an old bath, Chiayi bamboo, Nantou weaving and Italian everyday objects.
The former men’s bathhouse at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park now offers a place to explore Italian design. Led by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), High Street Italia Taipei runs from October 17, 2026 to March 26, 2027, with free entry and a combination of display and retail. Start with the way the old bathhouse meets arches, bamboo shelving and radial woven-bamboo decoration, then see how homeware, coffee equipment and leather goods occupy the same everyday setting.
High Street evokes a city’s main shopping street. The Chinese name, Qiao You Yi Si, combines a sound recalling the Italian greeting ciao with ideas of ingenuity and Italy. The space sits between exhibition and curated shop, bringing brands already in Taiwan together with those exploring the market for the first time, for both consumers and industry visitors. Free entry does not make the displayed products or every brand activity free.
The original bath becomes the center of the space
The design retains the central bath and builds a viewing sequence through surrounding platforms and displays. Photographs show white tiles still visible, with new pale bamboo elements following the existing contours and keeping traces of the building’s earlier use in view. Fan-like arrangements of arched display structures translate a familiar Italian architectural form to the scale of merchandise. Moving from entrance to center and then around the categories provides a clear spatial route.
Bamboo tones and arched displays lead through the entrance into the former bathhouse.Arches and bamboo weaving extend from the center toward different product areas.
Italian architect Lorena Alessio leads the design, using bamboo from Chiayi for shelving, tables and platforms around the bath. Taiwanese architect Dao-Ming Chang conceived the dome decoration, combining Nantou bamboo weaving with the image of Rome’s Pantheon in a radial composition. The weaving is an interior decorative and craft element. Its density, shadows and relationship to the domed form are the focus, rather than the recreation of an ancient Roman building.
From furniture and moka pots to leather details
The first season spans home design, food and drink, and fashion and leather goods. ZANOTTA, ENRICO PELLIZZONI, Tonin CASA and BIALETTI bring furniture, leather lifestyle objects, lighting and moka pots into one display context. Fashion and leather names include GENSAMI, REPTILE’S HOUSE, SAPAF and VIVIANI. Observe how the shelving frames the materials, then consider the dimensions, feel and uses of everyday objects; this provides a more useful way to read the space than simply counting brands.
The project promotes products and supports business matchmaking, with content updated through brand activities. The official events list still includes earlier pop-ups on Xinyi’s Xiangti Avenue and the industry olive-oil event that ended on October 19. These are not daily programs at Songshan. For workshops or talks, check the intended audience, dates and registration conditions separately. Visits focused on the space and displays can follow the current bathhouse exhibition period.
Check the venue and dates before visiting
The venue is the men’s bathhouse at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, whose address is No. 133, Guangfu South Road, Xinyi District, Taipei. It is closed on Mondays. Running through March 26, 2027, this is a semi-permanent exhibition and retail space with a defined period. Find current brands and events on the official High Street Italia Taipei website. For visitors interested in adaptive reuse and everyday objects, the central bath, surrounding bamboo displays and woven decoration overhead offer three connected scales of observation, bringing Taiwanese craft and Italian design into dialogue through material.
