Design Movement on Campus is Taiwan’s first large-scale collaboration between the design industry, the educational system, and the Taiwanese government, through the Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI), having first started in 2019. The project aims to support schools in Taiwan in collaborating with professional design teams for aesthetic transformation in the campus environment on all levels.
Ever since, the project has been implementing the transformation of environments with an emphasis on aesthetics and innovation at 91 schools throughout Taiwan for the campus environment. It not only demonstrates new public aesthetics by optimizing the user experience and design thinking but also explores opportunities for design professionals to participate in public affairs, establishing participation and matching mechanisms. The success of Design Movement on Campus has won over 50 global awards including the Good Design, iF, and the Golden Pin Design Award.
Supervised by the Ministry of Education and run by TDRI Design Movement on Campus began due to the observation that nowadays the continuous evolution of knowledge trends and educational strategies has significantly transformed teaching and learning methods compared to the past. As a result, there is a noticeable lack of diverse and open learning environments, a lack of diverse and user-friendly environment that respond to contemporary trends and needs. Moreover, the study team recognized that introducing design thinking and turning schools into places immersed in aesthetics would be necessary to enable aesthetics education to truly start with life on campus.
Schools have rarely been associated with functionality and aesthetics. Instead, many campuses in Asian countries are characterized by square classrooms with old, creaky desks, peeling white walls, and dull fluorescent lights. However, as we enter the era of technology and artificial intelligence, education is evolving rapidly. Schools are increasingly embracing diversity and inclusion, empowering students to engage with the world through curiosity, creativity, confidence, and kindness, while also helping them discover their unique talents. From blackboards to wearable technology, education has undergone significant transformations over the past 50 years.
Pioneering Aesthetic and Functionality Changes
For Design Movement on Campus projects and cases, TDRI serves as the cooperative platform between schools, cross-field experts, and professional design teams. Together, the team endeavors to create a new learning environment that integrates teaching innovation and aesthetic design, hoping to use design to change the campus environment in Taiwan and let aesthetic education start from campus life.
Over the past five years, the Design Movement on Campus has evolved significantly, addressing a range of subjects that shape the educational design landscape while consistently introducing new elements to inspire, challenge, and transform learning. Design Movement on Campus 5.0, the fifth edition marks a new phase in co-creation, focusing on four key pillars: “collaborative approaches to curriculum and design”, “student participation”, and “learning environments and trends”, with an emphasis on mental and physical well-being, special education, and counselling services. This initiative lays a strong foundation for innovative teaching practices that adapt to current trends and evolving needs, “prioritizing educational innovation through new models” that enhance the overall learning experience.
Through aesthetic transformations of the environment, old campuses and learning sites can meet the modern values and trends of education, paving the way for the future. TDRI believes schools should be for more than book-learning. Rather, it pictures schools using deign and aesthetics to inspire the imagination of teachers and students, innovate teaching models, change traditional teacher-student relationships and life education, fundamentally solve problems in the campus environment, and create expectations for a better living and learning environment for the next generation.
As we look to the future, the question arises: What will education look like in the next 5 to 10 years?
Case 1
Turning Trash into Treasure: How Design Transformed a School’s Trash Area into an Award-Winning Space
Kaohsiung Guang Wu Elementary School in southern Taiwan completed the renovation of its resource and waste collection center last year, in April 2023. Due to dim lighting, poor ventilation, and inferior traffic flow planning, the trash and recycling area at Kaohsiung Guang Wu Elementary School was the most unappealing space on campus. Students always wanted to avoid taking garbage to the tiny, smelly brick shed during the daily “cleaning time” after school. Externally, the area was next to the main entrance, which made the entrance look unpleasant. In addition, neighboring residents would secretly dump their trash in the shed, making the unhygienic situation even more problematic.
Therefore, the Design Movement on campus invited Meta House to redesign the trash and recycling area, aiming to transform the confined and disordered zone into an inviting, open zone.
The design team first reorganized the space by function, including the recycling zone, general waste disposal, working platform, cleaning tools storage, and cleaning area. This layout creates a more efficient and straightforward recycling process. Secondly, the team designed new classification icons for recycling to make resource sorting more intuitive and user-friendly. Adding nighttime lighting also makes the area a scenic part of both the school and the neighborhood.
As for the structure of the recycling center, Meta House applied a lightweight, neat wave-wall sequence to extend the landscape and round-shaped baffles to shield against wind and rain. The curved, transparent mesh surrounding the space helps eliminate foul odors through natural ventilation. Last but not least, incorporating diverse plants allows the recycling center to enhance the greenery on campus, reduce the oppressive aura of the area, and provide a natural ecological learning platform for students.
The renovation of the recycling area at Guang Wu Elementary School might seem like a simple redesign case, but it is a perfect demonstration of integrating aesthetics into daily education as well as the possibility of elevating campus spaces using design thinking. The successful transformation has been recognized by the iF Design Award for Architecture and Public Architecture, the Golden Pin Design Award for Best Design of the Year, and the Good Design Award in 2024.
Case 2
Resonance Field of Light and Sound: The Intersection of Design, Education, and Performance
The classroom is the space students spend most of the day in at school. Therefore, making the classroom comfortable and functional should be the priority when considering renovation. Kuang Jen Catholic High School and Cloudform Laboratory which is located in New Taipei City, have proudly showcased how a well-designed music classroom can achieve the necessary functionality while also inspiring harmony and creativity.
The music classroom was utilized for music lessons and choir practice. However, the existing tables, chairs, and chorus platforms were old and not suitable for modern teaching styles and student grouping, showing a lack of flexibility. Further, the layout caused lighting overexposure and echo interference in the room.
The design team began by fulfilling the needs for two different modes of the space: classroom and performance. In the classroom mode, the center of the room can accommodate groups of desks and chairs, which can be removed during performances to make space for the stage. Each desk consists of ten modular panels made of specially selected acoustic boards, and the legs can be folded, forming a thin panel that can be easily hung in the cabinets on the walls. The chairs can also be easily stored on the acoustic walls. This design helps integrate classroom necessities into the interior design.
For the performance mode, a belt of stairs around the room is used as choir risers and podiums, or seats for the audience appreciating a performance on-stage at the center of the room. The flexible desks and tables generate a wider performance area. Two sound-absorbing window curtains are installed not only to shade the room from sunlight but also to create spatial separation between the front stage and the backstage by changing their positions for various purposes.
Lighting control plays a significant role in performances. Thus, the redesigned music room is equipped with LED lights with multiple sets of loop switches that can be set up for zone control. The settings can be flexibly adapted to different locations in the space and create performance stage effects by providing the necessary level of brightness for each performance. The LED strip lights are installed along the curved curtain track to make the classroom more visually comfortable.
The renovation of the music classroom in Kuang Jen Catholic High School won the iF Design Award for Interior Architecture and Public Interiors and the Golden Pin Award for Spatial Design in 2024. It immaculately combines the concept of aesthetic education with performance art, offering a vivid space of melody and delight.
Case 3
Curio Box Classrooms: How Taiwan Elementary is Transforming Spaces for Inclusive Education
Located in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City, Tainan Sinhua Elementary School embarked on a mission in 2023 to redesign its Special Education Sensory-Motor Training Classroom, a 102-square-meter space. The existing classroom setup posed significant challenges for the special education teachers, as the conventional layout failed to meet their specific needs. Teachers required additional movable furniture and equipment to better support their students, but the lack of a proper storage system and cluttered, outdated playground tools compromised both safety and functionality. Furthermore, the classroom needed to accommodate a range of activities, from active play to quiet learning. Unfortunately, the fixed and cumbersome furniture limited flexibility, making it difficult to adapt the space for various needs.
Tainan Sinhua Elementary School promotes “Inclusive Education” by organizing events like "Inclusive Education Days" and the "Angel Buddy Program." These activities, such as building blocks and outdoor games, encourage regular students to engage with special education students. The courses vary between active and quiet activities, but the classroom’s current setup, with limited space and inefficient storage, has led to toys and teaching materials being piled up. This reduces the usable space and creates safety concerns during activities. Special education students also need more help from teachers before and after lessons, so the classroom’s space and furniture must be safe, flexible, and easy to use to meet their diverse needs.
Inclusive Education in Action: The 'Harmony Box Classroom' Edutainment Experience of Creating Open Spaces and Welcoming Diversity
The ‘Harmony Box Classroom’ was designed by the team from YUNGCHEI & YU Architecture. Because of the lack of storage, they created a storage system inspired by the traditional concept of the "curio box," aiming to optimize the use of classroom space. They divided the classroom into three areas: one for sports equipment, one for cooking and baking, and one for quiet lessons. The walls include movable tables and chairs, such as high tables with Lego walls, storage units at seat level, and small tables that can be assembled in different ways. This allows the space to be used flexibly depending on the activity.
The design also includes fun icons to help teachers and students easily understand what is stored where, encouraging both organization and creativity. The goal is to create a space where students can naturally interact and learn together. The classroom even opens up to the corridor, with soft mats leading to eco-friendly wooden floors and seating areas. This seamless design connects indoor and outdoor spaces, making it a popular spot for all students at Tainan Sinhua Elementary School.
