Echoing Taiwan Tech’s forward-looking vision of establishing the Taiwan Building Technology Center to focus on architectural technology as an area of cutting-edge research, this piece combines architecture, technology, and art into a large installation that elevates the covered walkway into an artistic exhibition.

   This semioutdoor walkway provides shelter from the wind and rain and is an intermediary space between buildings that acts as a multifunctional platform for both rest and performance. With this installation, the walkway is transformed into a new open space where faculty, students, and community members can stop and engage in activities and emotional exchanges.

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   When digging the foundations of the IB Building, a 10 m long, approximately 150-year-old bishop wood from 5000 years ago was uncovered in the Taipei Basin. Drawing inspiration from this discovery, Lai conceived her work to represent Taiwan Tech’s technological and academic spirit as it continues to move forward and innovate boldly. The interactions among history, culture, technology, and art throughout time resemble a large and ever-growing tree. Materials are granite and cast copper, which are highly weather-resistant and long-lasting. The copper tree is embedded 5–7 mm into dimpled granite. After refining the texture of the 1:1 wooden tree model, a rough copper mockup was cast before casting the final sculpture. Grooves were carved into the granite to match the 7 mm copper sheet. The copper was cast and colored on-site, and subsequently nailed down and glued to the granite.

   The lush tree symbolizes the centennial history and future of Taiwan Tech, as well as the historical and geographical relationship between the unearthed tree, Taiwan Tech, and Taiwan. The whole image is laid flat on the ground, allowing teachers and students to walk along the track of history. The tree symbolizes the Taiwan Tech spirit of human cultivation, representing historical heritage and the willingness to challenge limits as it guides science and technology in Taiwan toward the international stage.

   1. Site introduction: This piece is hung in the curved corridor of the IB Building, a major avenue connecting the international conference rooms with classrooms and workshops, increasing the opportunities for admiring the artwork. Hung in a lofted space spanning three floors, the piece draws attention to the vertical relationship between floors, and viewers can admire the work from various heights and perspectives. Exhibitions and events held in the IB Building enable opportunities for interactions between members of campus and members of the community, and the intervention of the artwork provides various spatial experiences for people passing through.

   2. Creative conception: Humans invented tools as extensions of their bodily functions. This installation is an abstract tool, symbolizing the students cultivated by Taiwan Tech, nurtured in a greenhouse and leaving the school after maturing, much like seeds dispersing into the air. The indoor installation is hung in the space above the corridor, visually livening up the environment. The outdoor installation is shaped like a funnel, cast in copper, and an extension of the indoor installation; sunlight and rainwater pass through its pores toward the earth, in the same spirit as Taiwan Tech alumni are trained in science and technology but happily coexist with nature.

    Outdoor cast copper seed     Indoor cast aluminum seeds

   During the middle and late stages of his creative career, Yuyu Yang mostly engaged in stainless steel creations. “The simple and smooth reflection brings both the surroundings and the viewer into the work,” mirroring the school’s respect for nature and intention to beautify its environment.

   The title of this piece is the Taiwan Tech motto, “Precision in Work, Sincerity in Attitude.” Yang created a sculpture to reflect the Taiwan Tech environment and Taiwan Tech spirit, unlike ordinary works that reflect only the artist’s conception. The Taiwan Tech motto is inspired by a Chinese saying, “metal and stone will open before perfect sincerity.” The unfolding stainless steel symbolizes the metal and rocks in the saying. This sculpture is composed of four stainless steel pieces fanned out neatly; these pieces could also be fitted together seamlessly, and are precision-engineered to not waste any space or materials. The neatness, clarity, and subtlety reflect the founding spirit of Taiwan Tech.

   In 2003, Taiwan Tech began a project to renovate the school entrance with new plants and a scenic pond to highlight the Jing Cheng sculpture and its importance in the collective memory of Taiwan Tech members, reshaping the image of Taiwan Tech as a university that focuses on both the sciences and the humanities.

   The project and its design concepts are as follows. The Jing Cheng sculpture was moved forward to become the arrow in the bow of the horseshoe-shaped garden, drawing attention to the sculpture and underscoring its importance. The sculpture is situated on a concrete-washed stone base; together, they represent the “metal” and “stone” in the saying, respectively. Overgrown plants were removed from the university entrance to enhance the image of openness, evoking the image of metal and stone opening. A fan-shaped pond was installed, narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, underscoring the radial movement of the sculpture. Furthermore, the pond was treated with a mirror surface, reflecting serenity and dignity at the university entrance. The reflective surface of the pond reinforces the statue and complements the stainless steel of the sculpture.