Delta Electronics Foundation Completes Reconstruction of 65% Energy-saving, Eco-friendly Namasia Elementary School in Taiwan

The Delta Electronics Foundation jointly held an inauguration ceremony for the reconstruction of the Ming Chuan Elementary School on February 4th 2012 at the Ming Chuan Platform, Namasia District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Participating organizations included the Reconstruction Council, Executive Yuan, the Ministry of Education, and Kaohsiung City Government. Ming Chuan Elementary School was buried in mud from Typhoon Morakot in August 2009. The school will receive a "diamond grade" green building certification, and become a model of green school architecture at medium elevations for the next generation.

Bruce Cheng, Chairman of the Delta Electronics Foundation, indicated that the foundation is devoted to eco-friendly, energy-saving principles and promoting green buildings in the years to come. Green buildings not only save energy but are also beneficial to the health of students. He stated that the foundation's responsibility for reconstruction is not over with the completion of the school. The foundation will also introduce resources for environmental education at the school to promote rural environmental education, and encourage the local public to pay more attention to eco-friendly sustainability issues and practice carbon reduction daily.



After reconstruction, the design for the school premises of Namasia Ming Chuan Elementary School will feature multiple themes, including indigenous culture, eco-friendliness, ecology, education and disaster prevention. The school offers the ambiance of home in the traditional residential style of the indigenous people. Other than its main purpose for education, it also serves as a local refuge, with a seven-day, self-sufficiency plan for food, water and electricity during possible typhoons. The building is designed in the stilt house style, respecting the land in the spirit of sustainability.

A tribal club house inspired the concept of the eye-catching wooden structured library at the school. It combines the meaning of inheritance with the modern functional goal of handing down knowledge. The library will be important to cultivating the reading culture of the school and the community. The application of construction materials for the entire building is completely "green" with the use of wood structures to achieve carbon reduction. The direct usage of Taiwan's local afforested cryptomeria lowers carbon emissions both in the processing and transportation. The foundation further commissioned local artists to use driftwood produced locally by the typhoon for the indigenous people's cultural expression and to symbolize the school's rebirth.

When planning the school, architect Kuo Ying-Zhao applied the green architectural spirit of "sustainable zero energy consumption" as the design theme. Professor Lin Xian-De, the reconstruction consultant for the Department of Architecture at National Cheng Kung University, estimated that, compared to other school premises of the same scale, the new school is expected to achieve 65% in energy-savings. The green building techniques of implementing local lighting and wind direction into the design achieves the goal of naturally reducing the use of energy. Energy-saving devices such as LED lights and solar energy heater applications are also planned for the school. The characteristics of adequate sunlight and wind from the mountain are further utilized to actively enhance the supply of alternative energy, such as solar power and wind power.

With the significance of the reconstruction of Namasia Ming Chuan Elementary School, the National Geographic channel also participated and documented the entire process. The completed documentary will be broadcast in Taiwan and in 35 different countries throughout the world.