Blue Print
Blue Print
the Blue Print exterior is a work of art on an old building
objects hang from old wooden beams
This iconic bar gains more attention for its exterior than its interior. The facade is an art piece with a design inspired by architectural blue prints (thus the name of the bar). The buildings exterior, which is ironically an interior wall of a former residence, attracts curious locals and tourists alike who all get their cameras out and start snapping away. On any given day or night you can see crowds of people, both amateur and professional, utilizing Tainan’s most popular urban backdrop. The artist incorporated many of the worn elements of this reclaimed building into the design, and has added many three-dimensional materials in addition to the painted-on effects. Some of the components of this facade are quite precariously hung (hello giant chunk of cement hanging in the air!) and yet there is nothing to stop people from interacting with it day or night. This brings to mind two things that I love about Taiwan; safety is left to people’s common sense, and there is little fear of vandalism.
As far as the bar goes, it’s a rather intimate and loungy establishment. The interior is a little small, with a bar and narrow couch-seating on the ground floor and some table-seating upstairs in the rafters. The seating is separated and most people tend to come to the place in small groups. The lighting is kept dark enough that the candles on the tables seem bright. Musically, the sound varies with the tastes of the young bartenders, but from my experience this usually only changes between heavy metal and various forms of techno. I did hear some old Pink Floyd once. A few foreigners pop into Blue Print from time to time, but it’s mostly a local crowd. I found it a good place to sit at the bar and practice my Chinese.
There is an English menu with a list of decent bar food. The beer prices range from NT$100 for Taiwan Beer to NT$180 for some Belgian beers. Cocktails are quite overpriced at NT$200 – 250.
Even if you’re not into bars, the building is worth checking out on its own. Additionally, there are several other murals painted on ruined walls in the area that are part of an arts initiative. Many of the buildings in this area of the city were mutilated during the failed construction of an underground mall beneath Haian Road, and the arts initiative has helped to quell some of the fire from the urban development fiasco.
- Blue Print’s interior, ground floor
Blue Print's exterior at night
a young model poses in front of Blue Print
Open: Sunday to Friday 8:00 pm – 3:00 am, Saturday 3:00 pm – 3:00 am.
Location: Haian Road (Hai An 海安路) section 2 , between Heping and Zhongming (near Minquan), West Central District, Tainan City.
