The ground has been broken for Taiwan’s Tech Cube as Taipei American School (TAS) broke ground for its construction last Thursday, March 2.
According to The China Post, the breaking ground ceremony was attended by numerous spectators, which included TAS’ board members and administrators, faculty, donors, staff, and the students and their parents.
“One of the jobs of the board is to look into the future. We are to never settle for what is, but to always concentrate on what could be,” Tina Koo, TAS’ board chairperson, told The China Post. Koo is also part of the Tech Cube’s so-called task force.
The Tech Cube is an open-planned facility for TAS’ STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) program.
The five-storey building will have dedicated areas for design, technology, and robotics. Age-appropriate learning spaces will be created, and space for collaboration and teamwork will also be fitted into each level.
Inspired by a facility in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Tech Cube will offer STEAM students approximately 4,380 square meters of usable space.
High school students will have access to the electrical engineering lab and fabrication hub, where they can design their projects. Meanwhile, middle school students get to play with a VEX arena and a robotic design lab.
Lastly, the floor for lower-school students will feature an amphitheater, as well as so-called “tinker and maker” spaces.
Students and teachers can work, collaborate, and participate in “design-thinking challenges” in the Tech Cube. In addition, the facility will also host an array of projects, although it is unclear whether it take place in the course of a class or even a whole school year, The China Post reported.
Once finished, the Tech Cube is expected to be an environmentally compliant building and achieve the Bronze Level of Environmental Certification in Taiwan. It is slated to open in Dec. 2018.