Construction of NCKU Green Building Kicked Off

TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The blueprint of the most pioneering green building in National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and also probably the first of its kind in the world, namely the Education Center for Subtropical Green Buildings (ECSGB) with an alias as “Green Magic School”, was recently approved by the City Urban Planning Committee of Tainan City in November, 2008, and simultaneously awarded by the Architecture and Building Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior as a “Diamond Level Candidate for Green Building Labeling”. The detailed construction and design layout of this Green Magic School has been also completed on December 17th. Public tender on the construction work of the NCKU ECSGB is expected to be called around January of 2009 with an aim for completion of all construction work by 2010.

“Diamond Level Candidate for Green Building Labeling”

The NCKU Green Magic School, following the example of Noah's Ark to save the world, has been designed and managed jointly by NCKU Professor Hsien-Te Lin of Architecture Department, and Architect Chao-Yung Shih. They unprecedentedly invited four NCKU faculty members to work on scientific experiments for feasibility of their environmental friendly designs. For example, the building is slated to use “adequate techniques”, instead of “expensive techniques”, to achieve “quadruple benefit” with the challengeable aims to save 40% energy, to conserve 30% water, to reduce 30% carbon emission as well as for a utilization expectancy of one hundred years.

According to Professor Lin, the most stunning point of this green building is built with 100% of green construction materials. For example, firstly, the Portland blast-furnace slag cement, donated by China Steel Corp. at Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, can reduce the cement utilization by 30% as well as cut carbon emission by 10%. Furthermore, it can increase the solidity strength of concrete by 40%. Secondly, the light-weight ceramsite made by mud clay dredged from nearby reservoirs can be used for partition walls and ground soils on rooftop garden so that the structural load can be lessened, and the life duration of reservoirs can be extended as well as the water usage of rooftop garden could be significantly reduced because of the intrinsic porous structures in the ceramsite that could retain more water.

Furthermore, the electric cords certified with Green Material Label and donated from Ta Ya Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd. is made exclusively from halogen-free plastic and won’t generate any malignant substances, such as dioxin and halogen during incineration. Environmental friendly carpets and curtains, made from corn and recycled plastic (PET) bottles, respectively, are bestowed by Everest Textile Co.

The NCKU Education Center of Subtropical Green Buildings is also a Magic Green School full with healthy concepts. For example, the coatings branded with “Care Milieu” provided from BioSun Technology Co. are bacterium-and-fungus-resistant, anti-fouling and self-cleaning as well as moisture adjustable. Furthermore, water-based wood coatings, donated from YUN CHUN HO International Co., certified with a certificate of healthy building materials label from the Architecture and Building Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior does not contain any formaldehyde and heavy metals. The bacterium-resistant steel plates, donated from Yieh Phui Enterprise Co. will be adopted in the ventilation system of the air-conditioners to maintain a good quality of healthy air. The Binchoutan (Japanese bamboo charcoal) implanted with silver nanoparticles, bestowed from Lifecharcoal Corp. will be embedded into the double-layer walls in the international conference hall of the Green Magic School to disinfect release and to absorb filthy odors and fatal gases.

Notably, all the building materials used in the NCKU Green Magic School are made domestically and inexpensively. All the enterprises taking parts in the establishment of Green Magic School will become the partners of “green technological education” and be displayed inside the “green building museum” in the NCKU Green Magic School.

The NCKU Green Magic School is endowed by Chairman of Delta Electronics, Dr. Bruce Cheng’s 100 million NTD donations, approximately 3 million USD and will be built at the NCKU Li-Hsing Campus. The building will have three levels above ground and one level underground, housing an international conference hall and demonstrating the green architectural technology and research.

About Delta Electronics and Dr. Bruce Cheng

Dr. Bruce Cheng, esteemed as a pioneer in Taiwan’s electronics industry, earned a B.S. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering of NCKU in 1959. He was presented with an honorary Doctorate from NCKU in 2007 and was also the recipient of the “NCKU Outstanding Alumni Award” in 1995.

Dr. Cheng founded Delta Electronics in 1971 with an initial capital of NT$100,000 and 10 employees to produce television components. Today, Delta is the world’s largest provider of switching power supplies and brushless fans, as well as a major source for power management solutions, components, display solutions, industrial automation, networking products, and renewable energy solutions. With a consolidated annual sales turnover of US$ 4.8 billion in 2007, Delta is now the world’s largest manufacturer of switching power supplies and brushless fans. Under Dr. Cheng’s leadership, Delta Electronics has won many awards including Forbes Asia’s “Fabulous 50” (Fab 50) award in 2007 and 2008. CNBC European Business magazine listed Delta Electronics in its "Global Top 100 Low-Carbon Pioneers" second annual ranking in the January/February 2008 issue. Delta was also awarded “the Most Admired Company of electronics industry” in surveys conducted by the renowned CommonWealth magazine for six consecutive years. Delta Electronics has also won Global Views Magazine’s annual “Corporate Social Responsibility Award” three years in a row including the 2008 CSR distinguished honors award. Dr. Cheng was chosen as the “Most Admired Executive of 2007 and 2008 by CommonWealth magazine. In July 2008, the Committee on Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved the name of "Chengbruce" for asteroid 168126.

About National Cheng Kung University

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) has three quarters of a century of distinguished history and well over 120,000 alumni dotting the globe and achieving success in the arts, business, education, science, technology and healthcare. Currently the university has 20,000 students and 1,100 faculty members from around the globe. With a culture of proactive intellectual growth on the world’s stage, NCKU in Tainan, Taiwan, has evolved from its engineering roots to become a comprehensive research center and international university in the Asia Pacific.