A few days ago, Dept. Of Architecture (DOA) held a “2006 International Design Camp on City Zen Garden” in the recreation farm between Hongshulin and Zhuwei MRT stations. 197 undergraduate and graduate students from Dept. of Architecture participated in the contest in both design drawing and making a garden. Professor Haakin Rasmussen from Bergen School of Architecture in Norway was invited to assist the student.

The theme of the design contest is "Acupuncture on City." The students are assisted to probe the life of a modernized city microcosmically, like an acupuncturist diagnosing the "Chi" of a human body.

Chang Chun-Ming, First-year graduate student from DOA, stated that he originally thought it was so difficult to present the project by using only black, white, and red colors; however, he realized gradually that in this way students had a much better chance to initiate creativity.

The camp base is divided into two: one beside the river bank, the other nearby the farm. There are totally 18 groups of students. Every group is asked to design a garden of 5 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, equivalent to the size of a parking spot. All tools and materials are prepared by the students. In the garden designed by Ong Wei-Jen and other 9 students, the gate to the garden is made of straw, creating a pastoral air of an arcadia. (~ Johnny Chu & Peiling Hsia )