Why do many houses have iron grilles and iron doors? Are they necessary?為何很多房屋有鐵窗鐵門？需要嗎？

Take a walk down almost any street in Taipei—whether it’s a bustling main road or a quiet alley—and you’ll notice something curious: lots of buildings, especially older apartments and mid-rise complexes, are fitted with iron bars on the windows and iron gates at the doors. For many foreigners, this can be puzzling. After all, Taiwan is one of the safest places in the world. According to Forbes Advisor’s 2024 global safety rankings, Taipei boasts the second-lowest crime risk among all major cities. So… what’s with the prison aesthetics?

 

Well, turns out, there are a few very practical (and very local) reasons:

 

1. Burglary Prevention

Not all buildings in Taiwan have security guards or doormen. Without extra protection, windows and doors can become easy entry points for thieves—especially in low-rise buildings. So, to keep burglars out, residents often go full medieval and install iron gates and window bars. Better safe than sorry, right?

 

2. Expanding Living Space

Housing in Taipei isn’t exactly cheap, and space is a luxury. So people get creative. Adding iron bars allows residents to push outward—literally—creating little extended spaces where they can hang laundry, stash the AC unit, store a few things, or even start a tiny garden. It’s basically a mini balcony without the balcony.

 

3. Preventing Falls (yes, really)

In apartments without proper balconies or with low windows, there’s a real concern about safety—especially for families with small children, elderly relatives, or adventurous pets. Iron bars act like invisible hands, keeping loved ones from accidentally tumbling out the window. It’s not glamorous, but it works.

 

While the iron bars might look intense at first glance, but really—they’re just a unique Taiwanese solution: practical, protective, and kind of clever in their own way.

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走在台北街頭，不論馬路旁或巷弄內，許多舊公寓、大樓、華廈，都有住戶裝上鐵窗、鐵門，這種景象尤其讓外籍朋友疑惑，因為台灣的治安可算在全球名列前茅，2024年國際知名媒體福布斯顧問 （Forbes Advisor）發布的全球最安全旅遊城市排行榜中，台北市在犯罪風險方面更居全球第2低，也就是全球治安第二好，為什麼會有這麼多人在自家裝上鐵窗、鐵門？

 

答案就是防盜、增加住屋空間和防止老人、兒童或寵物墜樓。

 

1、防盜

許多公寓、華廈，甚至於大樓都沒有管理員，如果沒有加裝鐵窗、鐵門，容易讓小偷有機可趁破窗或破門而入，成為竊賊的目標，因此住戶會安裝鐵窗、鐵門來防止宵小入侵。

 

2、增加住家空間

台北房價高、空間小，想要增加空間的其中一個方式就是加裝鐵窗，在鐵窗外推空間的空間，放置冷氣機、曬衣服，甚至當成儲物空間或放置盆栽做為園藝造景。

 

3、防止老人、兒童或寵物墜樓

許多沒有陽台或是窗戶較低的公寓，為了防止小孩、老人或寵物意外墜落，就會加裝鐵窗增強安全性。

 

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