Project Overview

The core motivation of this project is a group of teachers who wanted to make changes in conventional teaching and to transform old classroom spaces into a base for STREAM teaching. The emphasis is therefore on inspiration, serendipity, and creativity as the goals of this project. The project is based on an open architecture, which not only provides various teaching needs but also avoids framing the creativity of teaching by space, hence the designers retaining the flexibility and functionality of the place. This project uses smooth linear elements and the cutting of circular curves to maintain the flowing atmosphere of the space, and at the same time, matches design ideas with spatial functions to achieve a creative space that encourages children to think, work, and experiment.

Project Commissioner

Chingshin Academy-Elementary School

Project Creator

WWJ Architect

Project Brief

In the treatment of the overall space, the designer took the flexibility of free and transparent space as a pre-process consideration, and used streamlining curves, and rounded surfaces as elements in the configuration of various teaching spaces. For example, in the library, curved shapes are often used as the main axis of spatial configuration, supplemented by functional equipment such as bright yellow whiteboard walls for writing and portable chairs, allowing the overall space to be adjusted flexibly according to the curriculum. In the math classroom, a movable teaching trolley and a multi-layered mobile whiteboard are used as flexible accessories in the space; the robot classroom utilizes the interlacing of linear light tubes as the main axis of the entire space, creating the concept of a mobile field; finally, the corridor that connects the entire teaching space is used as an intermediary to precisely set the angle of light refraction, through the reflection of light on the dark metal and glass classroom walls and grey flooring, presenting the overall corridor as rich in technological three-dimensional geometric refraction, reversing the darkness of the old space. It is hoped that the linear and dynamic imagery in the overall space will guide the users to think outside of the traditional teaching system and create a free and transparent space that will help to inspire the users’ thoughts on the course.

Project Innovation/Need

The entire teaching space is divided into six educational areas, namely science, technology, robotics, mechanics, art, and mathematics, and in the overall design of the space, the main axis of the design is a flexible spatial allocation, utilizing visual penetration between the areas and the open flow of circulation to stimulate student interaction and guide them to think flexibly and creatively. The designer hope that the overall space can have more possibilities that are different from traditional teaching owing to the flexibility of movable parts. From the corridor that runs through the entire teaching space, dark transparent glass is used as the interface between classrooms and the corridor, so that the entire building maintains a certain degree of transparency and layering. By using circulation to outline the entire space allows free-moving spatial elements to still use this setup as a benchmark, such as the linear light strips in the robotics classroom's ceiling, which are adorned with bright yellow flowing lines. At the same time, it is equipped with an automatic telescopic power supply to preserve the floor's transparency and free space performance. The use of movable and adjustable tables and chairs and a sliding whiteboard allow the overall space to have more flexibility to change with various courses.

Design Challenge

In the overall design of the building, intelligent light in the corridors was used as the lighting scheme, precisely setting and using the angle of light refraction, and through the reflection of the light on the dark metal and glass classroom walls and gray flooring, three-dimensional geometric refraction of the corridor is brought forth with a sense of technology, breaking away from the original standard lighting patterns in the space, presenting overlapping refractive frames and illusions, like the aperture imprint of a tunnel that goes through time and space, which also symbolizes the progression of time and unrestricted innovation and technology.

Sustainability

The concept of open architectural space originally originated from the hopes that by fully understanding and grasping the variability of usage behavior at the early stage of design, a convergent proposal could be provided to support the most variable use of space with the most streamlined design entity so that the waste of redecoration caused by changes in space usage could be minimized. This project is based on such a concept, which provides a balanced solution to the possible changes in functional modeling and the future.