Cheng Huang-er, associate professor in Architecture Department, published his book last week: Participation, a collection of photos that recorded his efforts for Tamkang campus space design with his students.
“This book expressed the absurdness and helplessness behind those stories around campus,” said professor Cheng. This book documented six events on campus, including fantasy of architecture, the university-wide selective course, the moving for the bronze stature, the campus design workshop, the iron-shielded club offices fire accident, and ball games for the blind. All these stories are told through photos.
The “fantasy of architecture” part depicts campus environment and many creative designs. By the wing of imagination, students in Architecture Department express their wild ideas. Su Jung-fu, a second year student in Architecture master’s program, indicated that if main library were built like Eslite Bookstore, no one would refuse to go in for a cup of coffee.” For expelled students due to failure of academic performance, Chiu Yu-shuan suggested to build an “underground student activity center” to “create a new life.” Chang Ming-cheng expressed his idea by asking what kind of shoes one should wear in the pool located in a 100-meter high-rising building. After his investigation of ways people put their shoes at midnight, Chien Huan-chang presented his interesting observation on college couples living together off campus: “One street makes difference: girls’ dormitory is located on the left of Shuiyuan Street while the apartment complex on the right where college couples living together. College students are handling their own fate for the first time.”
“The university-wide selective course” part presents non-architecture majors’ course works for “campus design.” Some students wish to build a space for bungee jump on the top of engineering building, which is surely a design for releasing their stress.
In the part of “the iron-shielded student clubs offices fire accident,” professor Cheng, who has led his students for its rebuilding, seemed to reproduce this historical event in front of our eyes. Photos of busy activities before the accident, combined with those of ashes after the accident, convey a message that the enjoyment of participating in a group for a common goal will never return easily.” About seventy clubs are located in the corner of campus and constantly viewed as decoration to the mainstream development. “The space resource given to those clubs has often been forgotten by the mainstream of development.” Designers have made their efforts for improving this situation; and yet, “their frenetic ideas have to be measured by reality.”
Professor Cheng has also participated in the design of Ching-shen square. In “new home for the bronze stature,” Ching-shen grandpa mocks himself: “who will see me standing here?” Against the backdrop of the time tunnel, the bronze stature of Ching-shen grandpa is enwrapped in the noise around, and little by little, faded into a corner of campus. Through funny dialogues and photos, professor Cheng ponders over the deep meaning of this event in school’s history.
