Taiwan Today

A national-level project aims to improve aesthetic literacy by redesigning school campuses.

In September 2020 interior designer Minnie Jan (‮詹明旎‬) took her first look at the 1960s rectangular hall on the campus of Feng Dong Junior High School (FDJH) in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. The largely idle one-story structure was once used as a practice venue for the school wrestling team and looked dull both inside and out. “I thought few people would have any desire to use it, which is a pity for a building situated at the center of the campus,” said Jan, design director of MisoSoupDesign.
 

The Taipei City-based studio soon started to renovate the hall with a grant of NT$1.25 million (US$45,370) from the Design Movement on Campus (DMC) project launched by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and implemented by state-supported Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI) in Taipei. Participating schools welcome the opportunity to reimagine spaces and enhance campus atmosphere for students. “We incorporated biophilic design as one of the main concepts in our attempt to breathe life into the hall,” said MisoSoupDesign co-founder Daisuke Nagatomo. The Latin-derived phrase meaning “a love of nature” refers to the global design trend for architects to incorporate natural elements into buildings to boost the health and well-being of occupants. Floor-to-ceiling windows framing an old tree standing by the hall replaced small opaque ones, and an elevated circular platform extending half out of the building was built for small-scale performances, exemplifying this trend. “Interior designers shouldn’t only care about the inside space. We should also try to connect the inside with the outside, which can make a great difference to a school campus,” he added. The building had a redeeming original feature in its gracefully shaped roof, and this was accentuated by LED lighting. Upon completion the building received a 2021 Taiwan Interior Design Jury Award and was renamed Feng Dong Assembly Hall. It is now the pride of the school, with local residents also eager to use the space for community activities. 

Matching Partners

Thanks to the MOE initiative, which won an iF Design Gold Award, campuses across Taiwan are revamping their look and creating more welcoming environments for the next generation of students. A total of 34 institutions have seen their campuses transformed under the program that matches designers with elementary and secondary schools looking to revitalize sections of grounds ranging from canteens to classrooms to outdoor stages. According to Leon Chang (張智舜), creative director of Taipei-based design studio Wooyo, DMC is helping facilitate fruitful relationships between school authorities and designers. “Schools can rest assured that they’re getting the best of the best because studios have received the stamp of approval from TDRI,” he said. “The national-level institution serves as a bridge between the two sides.
 

Shan Feng Waldorf School in southern Taiwan’s Yunlin County had its old outdoor stage remade by Wooyo in an abstract image of a crested serpent eagle, a bird commonly seen in the area. The makeover won approval not only because the design incorporated that local reference, but because it added new features like a climbing wall and a pair of ramps to the stage for enthusiasts of the school’s most popular sport, monocycling. “We liberated the structure by transforming it into a symbol of freedom—a soaring bird in flight.” said Chang.
 

“Aesthetic literacy is not only cultivated in the classroom or through textbooks,” said Wu Hsiao-hsia (武曉霞), director of the MOE’s Department of Teacher and Art Education. “Upgrading the built environment with good design should be a primary consideration for students’ development.” Wu’s observation is echoed by Emil Chao (趙璽), chair of Taipei-based Chinese Society of Interior Designers, which encourages designers to make submissions for DMC and organizes professional groups to evaluate their proposals. “Until recently art education in Taiwan focused more on techniques and did’t adequately nurture aesthetic values among students through the campus environment,” he said.
 

Study Space

According to Chao, upgrading the design aesthetic can drastically change people’s attitudes towards a space. He cited as an example the band practice area at Chiapei Elementary School (CES) in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City. Despite being one of the best ensembles in town, CES’s school band had long practiced in a cramped corner of the school’s activity center. The target space was a large, cluttered room where music classes for all students took place. The new design created by Nano Lucky Interior Design (NLID) has separate storage for items like school bags, shoes and musical instruments. A retractable platform for performance was constructed, returning floor area when not in use. The design tidied and simplified the space with arcs inspired by the curved lines of notes on a score. “Everything has its place in this room, which changes the ambience and the mood within it,” said NLID’s creative director Sun Wei-tse (孫維澤). Former CES Principal Chou Chi-wei (趙季薇‬) made a similar observation. “Band members feel calmer and develop greater self-respect as professional musicians in the organized space,” she said. Sun’s proposal to TDRI included allowing students to take ownership of the process by assembling stools and painting. “Hands-on experience gives them an added incentive to take good care of the new environment,” Chou added. The redesigned room was named Chiapei ARC Concert Hall and won a 2021 Golden Pin Design Award, an honor granted by TDRI.
 

Ming Li Elementary School (MLES) and National Dong Hwa University Experimental Primary School (NDHUEPS), both in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County, similarly placed students’ needs front and center when they upgraded their environments thanks to DMC. The entrance atrium at MLES achieved a warm and welcoming look using full spectrum lighting carefully placed to illuminate wood laminate walls featuring a simple cartoon depiction of Confucius. Students display their artwork on special panels there and give small performances under the warm glow. A couple of classrooms at NDHUEPS with built-in reading corners, previously dominated by a teacher’s desk and bookshelves, were morphed into open spaces with sky-blue themed storage and large floor cushions. They are now favorite spots for students seeking to read in peace and have raised the quality of the classroom environment immeasurably.
 

DMC is now in its third iteration, with 25 schools around Taiwan each qualifying for a grant of up to US$1.6 million (US$58,100). Chao has confidence in the wide reach of the MOE project. “These schools set examples for educators all over the country. Their students, teachers and administrators gain a stronger aesthetic sense and school authorities enjoy professional assistance when replanning the built environment,” he said. “In the long term, the project shows how design enhances quality of life and upgrades Taiwan’s image.