Our Teaching Building
A building for multiple intelligences: the new Yu-Jen teaching building
The architectural design of the new building draws on two ideas:
1. Yu-Jen's foundation: its religious spirit and its history
2. Yu-Jen's mission: the six areas of education, moral, intellectual, physical, social, aesthetic and spiritual
The shapes and meaning of the school emblem (the cross, the two hands and the six rays) form the framework from which the lines, surfaces and structure of every space in the building were developed.
Throughout the design, we set out to create "a building that grows like a big tree": full of life and close to nature, rooted in Yu-Jen's own faith and history, with school spaces that stay open and flexible, like a living tree.
From groundbreaking to completion
7 July 1998
Groundbreaking ceremony
Excavation and pouring of the foundations
Main structure completed
Phase 1 of the teaching building
was completed in 2000
Groundbreaking for Phase 2, blessed by a priest
The new teaching building and the Shuangshi Road church
Features of the new teaching building
A building that grows like a tree
Like a big tree, Yu-Jen's new building is not fixed in a single shape: it will not always stay the way it is. It fits in with nature, and it grows along with the children. Here are some highlights:
The mural outside the gate
Where to find it: on the outer wall facing the Xingjin Road greenway.
About: designed and made by a Mexican artist from mosaic tiles, the mural is about five stories high. It shows Jesus with children. Its message, "Let the children come to me," is our school's mission and the heart of our teachers' work.
The school emblem and clock tower
Where to find it: near the new main gate.
About: the school emblem can be seen as soon as you reach the gate. It is made up of a cross, two hands and six rays (moral, intellectual, physical, social, aesthetic and spiritual), and it expresses Yu-Jen's educational ideals. The clock tower stands for the morning bell and the evening drum that mark each day.
The compass rose
Where to find it: near the new main gate.
About: just inside the gate, a compass rose is set into the ground. Children standing on it can tell at once where north, south, east and west are.
The foundation stone
Where to find it: on the north side of the courtyard.
Inscription: In commemoration of the new Yu-Jen teaching building
Yu-Jen Elementary School and its kindergarten were founded in 1967 by priests of the Belgian CICM, and have been run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Tianzhong ever since.
To welcome the 21st century, the school was redesigned in a human-centered form that expresses an international outlook. That it was completed on schedule today we owe to God's help: truly the right time, the right place and the right people.
We thank God for His care in the smooth progress of the work: the right time.
We thank the priests of the Belgian CICM for generously giving the land that allowed Yu-Jen to be built in Taichung: the right place.
We thank the priests, the sisters, our staff, our parents and friends from every walk of life for their support: the right people.
Designed with care by architect Tsai Po-Wen, and built with the full commitment of Chao-Hsiung Construction and the support of Lien-Hsing Electrical, this beautiful building is now complete.
May all our teachers and students make good use of it, lay the foundations for lifelong learning, grow themselves and serve others, and bring honor to the school.
The Board of Directors, Yu-Jen Catholic Elementary School
25 March 2000
Close up and far away
Where to find it: anywhere on campus.
About: the architect planned the building with great care. Soft curves replace the usual square design, so the campus looks different from every angle, whether you look down on it or up at it.
Little trees and clouds
Where to find it: on every pillar of the new teaching building.
About: the green ornaments on the pillars are "little trees," and the blue ones are "clouds." The architect designed the building around the idea of "a building that grows like a tree," and you can see that idea everywhere on campus.
The big tree in the courtyard
Where to find it: in the courtyard of the new teaching building.
About: as you enter the courtyard, a "big tree" stands on your left. Its trunk is a mosaic of Jesus and six ripe fruits: moral, intellectual, physical, social, aesthetic and spiritual. Its spreading branches cast a wide green shade, a symbol of the rich harvest children gather as they grow up at Yu-Jen.
The world map
Where to find it: on the 4th floor of the new building, at the top of the courtyard tree.
About: above the green canopy of the courtyard tree is a map of the world. It invites children to "stand at Yu-Jen and look out to the world"; as they play around it, they can feel that the whole world is one family.
The Four Millennium Pavilions
Where to find it: on the play terrace outside the 6th-floor music rooms.
About: the four pavilions are covered in mosaic of different colors, standing for four millennia.
The sports field
Where to find it: turn right after entering the main gate.
About: the running track is surfaced with PU, with a basketball court in the middle of the field.
Our beautiful new campus
These are just the highlights of Yu-Jen's new building. There are many more special details inside, waiting for children to look closely and discover them.