National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan has received the Taiwan Ecology, Energy, Waste Reduction and Health (EEWH) Diamond Certification from the Ministry of Interior for its Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center.
The three-storey, Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center, also known as the Magic School of Green Technology, cost about TWD87,000 ($296,1) per 36 square feet to be made. Spanning 4,800 square meter, the building adopts 13 different green building design methods, including five natural ventilation energy-saving methods, two equipment reduction methods, and five equipment energy-saving technologies and renewable energy technologies.
Among the 13 methods, the most notable is the natural buoyancy ventilation technology, allowing an international conference hall which can fit 300 people, to stay cool in summer and warm in winter without turning on the air conditioning.
The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center has overcome the disadvantage of condensation, mildew, accumulated dust and bacteria as well as pneumonia, guaranteeing the healthiest air quality by incorporating the antibacterial and environmental-friendly steel. The toilets in Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center have been incorporated with the UB-FINE water reduction system of zero power and hand-free access, one of the most unique and environmental-friendly designs that can prevent bacteria from spreading and cross infecting.
About 200 tons of serpentine jade cement, being used as the stone material for the international conference halls, have high degree of alkaline, magnetic field and hydroxyl radicals and can release large amount of far-infrared which is said to purify air and activate cells.
The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center, aka Magic School of Green Technology, got its inspiration from Noah’s Ark, echoing the renowned masterpiece, ‘Hot, Flat, and Crowded,’ by American journalist Thomas Friedman, which states that the world needs a million Noahs and a million Arks to save living beings and protect biodiversity.
The exterior look of the green building is designed to resemble a spaceship in Star Wars, with a leaf-like solar panel on the roof of the spaceship, ventilation towers that resemble marine command module with chimney, as well as railings, handrails and balconies. The roof of the spaceship looks like Napoleon cap, forming a deep sunshade which can block most of the direct solar radiation from entering indoor, reducing the power consumption of air conditioning. It has also been made into a roof garden with Crassulaceae drought-tolerant plants, showing a strong contrast between natural ecology and modern technology.
The Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center is designed to serve as NCKU’s international conference center and exhibit technologies achieved through green building research, utilising the most economical and efficient green building technologies such as energy- conservation, renewable energy, waste reduction, water recycling and nano photo-catalysts.
The Taiwan EEWH Diamond Certification is the highest award given by the Ministry of Interior, Taiwan, for green buildings. The building was unveiled on 12 January 2011.
