LANdLine Project—A phone call to unlock new possibilities in Westside Taipei

LANdLine Project—A phone call to unlock new possibilities in Westside Taipei

Have you ever discovered a city by making a phone call?

We invite you to pick up a reimagined rotary phone and step into a conversation that blends the virtual and the physical. The city is no longer just a backdrop for photos, but a journey shaped by how you feel in the moment.

FabCafe Taipei is located in the heart of West Taipei—a neighborhood where Wanhua’s historic temples and markets intersect with the vibrant street culture of Ximending. It’s a place full of layered textures, stories, and rhythms that can’t be understood in just one way.

LandLine Project, created and curated by FabCafe Taipei, is an interactive installation that begins with an old telephone.

Pick up the receiver, and you’ll be greeted by Milo, a virtual tabby cat who knows West Taipei inside and out. Curious and chatty, Milo will guide you through a brief conversation, gently uncovering your mood and preferences. Once hearing your out, Milo will offer a personalized recommendation that will lead you to a hidden shop, a cultural nook, or a forgotten corner of the neighborhood.

Concept｜A dialogue between people and the city, starting with a call

The LandLine Project draws inspiration from psychogeography and the Situationist movement—ideas that rethink how we perceive cities. Taking the public telephone—an object fading from everyday life—as the point of entry, the project reimagines the common act of “asking locals for advice” into a mediated experience of discovery.

What if we didn’t rely on recommended spots, but instead navigated the city based on personal situations and preferences? Where would we go?

The telephone becomes a bridge—a simulation of “calling a friend” for local tips. Our virtual character Milo, a curious and friendly guide who knows the city intimately, plays the role of an experiential navigator. The projection system moves fluidly between reality and fiction, revealing fragments of everyday life and memories not found in travel guides. At the end, an NFC tag lets you transfer the recommendation to your phone—making it tangible and actionable.

Behind each recommendation is a real place in West Taipei, carefully selected through local exploration. These places carry the voices of creators, memories of longtime residents, and traces of subculture. They may not be the most “famous,” but they piece together a rich, layered portrait of the city.

FabCafe Taipei has long been engaged in sustainability, local regeneration, and experimental cultural programming. In this exhibition, we integrate character-driven dialogue, NFC-enhanced interaction, and projected narrative spaces, inviting audiences to rediscover the city’s overlooked expressions through a technological interface.

We hope LandLine is not just a showcase, but a moment of reconnection between humans and the city—a process in which you, through simple answers, discover how your personal map intersects with the hidden rhythms of a place.

About the LANdLine Project

The LANdLine Project is an interactive curatorial framework designed to be locally adapted and reinterpreted.
Rooted in the spirit of psychogeography and the Situationist movement, this city-exploration experience invites people to rediscover a place—starting not from a map, but from personal preferences and casual conversation.

Using a repurposed landline phone, the project simulates the familiar act of “calling a friend for local tips.” A virtual character acts as your guide, asking a few simple questions to get a sense of your mood—and then offering a spot that feels just right for you, right now.

The installation combines voice interaction, real-time video projection, and NFC technology to create a hybrid, mixed-reality city navigation experience.

It’s not a fixed route.
It’s a different way of sensing a city—based on feeling rather than planning.
Each call leads to a place that may not appear in tourist guides, but reflects the layered textures of the neighborhood, seen through the eyes of creators, locals, and subcultures.

We see the LANdLine Project as a way to reconnect people with the places around them.
A system of felt connection, built one conversation at a time.

This project can happen anywhere.
If you have a neighborhood with stories to tell—and a team ready to gather insights and spark new dialogue—we’d love to hear from you. Let’s co-create the next LANdLine.

• Location: FabCafe Taipei No. 12, Lane 76, Section 1, Zhonghua Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City 108, Taiwan
• Date: 2025/5/24 – 6/15
• Open Hours: Wed.-Fri. 11:30 – 17:30、Sat.-Sun. 10:30 – 17:30
• Language: TC／EN ／TH／JP
• Price: Free
• Special Thanks: Ri Xing Type Foundry , Nowhere Bookstore , House of Story Wear

What can we do for you?

If you’re curious about how technology can reshape sensory experiences
or unlock new possibilities within familiar spaces—
or if you’ve ever imagined this phone ringing not in Ximen,
but on a street corner in your own city…

The LANdLine Project is open for collaboration.
If you’re ready to bring this experience to a different place,
we’d love to hear from you. Let’s start a conversation.

email: info.tpe@fabcafe.com