4 years ago, students from the Department of Architecture at Taipei Tech as well as other 4 universities started a group that gives volunteer construction called Guo He Yi Zhu. Similar to the concept of give volunteer clinic consultation, Guo He Yi Zhu helps people who have too little resource to build new house to fulfill their needs.Guo He Yi Zhu team’s recent mission was to build two out-door classroom for pupils at the Xin Le Elementary School in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Starting from scratch, Guo He Yi Zhu team spent 1 month living on campus to learn more about pupils’ learning situation and living style before the construction has done. Xin Le Elementary School is located where Atayal, one of Taiwanese aborigines, populates. The main design concept of the wooden classroom is Atayal Hunting Cabin. In order to bring out the school’s feature, Atayal ingredient such as bamboo and weave were also used in the classroom design. After completion, the multi-functional classroom will become a place for people to learn and recreate.

Yang Shih-Hung Yang, assistant professor from the Department of Architecture at Taipei Tech, noted that students are all dedicated in this project. He often goes into the mountains to supervise construction process himself, and he believes that this project is helpful to those children who live in a rather remote area.

"A building which was constructed with love is more strong than one built with concrete." said Hao Yu Hu, the program manager of Guo He Yi Zhu team.