In addition to the study abroad program in Rome that has been implemented for more than a decade, the Department of Architecture has also been collaborating with another institution in Italy, namely, the Politecnico di Milano. Recently, it has been co-organizing workshops focusing on food culture and environmental landscape every summer since 2014. The workshops study the similarities and differences between Western and Asian societies in terms of foods and cultures in order to stimulate architectural and design creativity. From September 4 to 15, 2017, Director Hao-Hsiu Chiu and Professor Tsung-Yen Hsieh of the Tunghai department and Professor Andrea Vercellotti from the Department of Architectural Design of Politecnico di Milano accompanied 15 Taiwanese students and 10 Italian students to Milan and Tuscany. Among the Taiwanese students, there were 8 enrolled in the International Master’s Degree Program and the rest were BA students.

     The workshop this time explored the relationship between particular foods and lands. The subject of the workshop, wine, was a familiar, yet also alien topic for Taiwanese students. Six days before the workshop, they conducted a research project on wine lifestyle and consumer behavior in the most populated city in Northern Italy, Milan. They used different mediums of pictures and films to create a final report. During this time, they also visited two contemporary exhibitions, namely, an old winery repurposed into the Prada Foundation by Rem Koolhaas, and the Hangar Bicocca private museum, that used to be a factory.

     In early September, all students visited the University of Gastronomic Science in Pollenzo, Italy. This campus, globally-known for innovation and environmental friendliness, is located in a medieval monastery in Rome which has been repurposed from a ruin into a UNESCO heritage site. The Vice Dean and faculty of the university explained the core values of slow food education, food perception analysis, and sociological meanings behind the slow foods movement. These briefings served as their references in the later sessions on landscape design. As could be expected, the students were also invited to join a true slow food dining experience before heading to Chianti, Tuscany, which is a renowned Italian wine cultivation region. Staying over in one of the local wineries, namely, Poggio Bonelli, enabled the students to conduct on-site observations and discussions, thus learning about the cultivation of the grapes, the making of wine, the tasting of wine, and the space design for tourism.

    Students also visited the nearby historic town Siena, studying the formation of communities and city footprints. The other two winery sites they visited were a new site developed in 2014 by Studio Archea for the Antinori family, a family that has been in the industry every since the 14th century, and the Barone Ricasoli estate of the Brolio family which has been producing wine since the 11th century. On their last day in Tuscany, students created their designs based on their understanding of wine and its natural and societal environment.

    The entire design workshop was conducted in English for a mixed group of Taiwanese and Italian students. The idea behind this concept was to generate cross-cultural collaboration and inspiration. The results of the workshops would be shared among the various collaborators, the University of Gastronomic Science and the Politecnico di Milano. As the two departments have strengthened the academic bonds between them, it was decided that they would organize a workshop in Taiwan next year about tea culture and environment.

    In addition, from September 21 to 24, 2017, Master students of the Department of Architecture participated in a four-day international workshop under the supervision of Professor Jui-pi Su with the Tokuda Lab and Stock Design and Management Institute (SDM) of Kyushu Institute of Technology. The workshop of twenty teachers and students toured around the old streets and neighborhoods of Taichung City, conducting field research and vision proposals regarding topics such as plaza design, commercial area marketing, human-based environment, and urban tourism.

    Tunghai’s collaboration with Kyshu has entered its second year. Due to the success of the workshop, the two schools are planning to become sister universities by the end of the year.