Situated in one of Taoyuan’s rapidly transforming districts, Bade Primary School responds to a recurring condition in Taiwanese school architecture: the tension between speed, simplicity, and identity. Many public schools delivered under such frameworks result in monochrome, highly utilitarian environments. By contrast, this project by BIAS Architects & Associates adopts a child-centred approach in which clarity, legibility, and sensory engagement inform the organisation of everyday learning spaces.
Colour as spatial infrastructure
Colour is used as an organisational device integrated into the school’s architectural logic. Saturated blues, yellows, and defined accent tones form a visual code that identifies entrances, thresholds, and destination points across the campus. This chromatic infrastructure supports independent navigation and wayfinding for a range of users. By integrating colour into building elements rather than applying it as a surface treatment, the design supports durability and long-term maintenance considerations.
Circulation strategy and outdoor extensions
A key spatial move is the separation of the vertical circulation core from the main building mass. This creates a gap that organises movement across the site and allows for open areas used for play, drop-off, assembly, and shared activities. The circulation core becomes a civic marker, recognisable at a distance, and provides a clear orientation point for students and visitors.
Stepping down along the building edge, a system of cascading terraces extends the learning environment outdoors. These outdoor rooms blur the boundaries between classrooms and circulation, supporting group work, environmental education, and flexible teaching formats while also serving as passive climatic buffers. Their shading geometry reduces heat gain, increases natural ventilation, and contributes to EEWH Daylight and Daily Energy Saving performance.
Environmental performance and EEWH certification
Bade Primary School is certified under Taiwan’s EEWH Green Building Label, a framework developed for the country’s humid subtropical climate. Certification categories, including biodiversity, greening, soil and water conservation, daily energy saving, CO2 reduction, waste minimisation, indoor environment quality, and water resource conservation, informed both architectural and landscape decisions.
Extensive planting across approximately 1,070 square metres of the site is estimated to contribute a net biogenic carbon reduction of –29.7 tonnes CO2e. A 450-square-metre detention garden functions as a stormwater basin, temporarily managing runoff to meet regional detention requirements and capturing an estimated 700–775 cubic metres of rainwater annually. Stored water is reused for non-potable applications such as irrigation, reducing strain on municipal infrastructure.
Building envelope and material efficiency
High-performance double-pane glazing reduces heat transfer and supports air-tightness in typhoon-prone conditions. The insulated roof assembly achieves U-values of 0.44–0.75 W/m²·K, while shading from terraces limits direct solar exposure. Interior finishes include low-emission materials, such as formaldehyde-free flooring compliant with Taiwan’s Green Building Material Label. Ceilings are left exposed, reducing material use, improving ventilation, and lowering VOC accumulation.
