Perspective view of the NCTU waterfront campus with new architectural buildings facing the lake.

NCTU

How can a master plan balance pedestrian experience, ecological preservation, and institutional identity?

CAZA was commissioned by the President of Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University to conceive of a Master Plan to help solve issues of circulation, ecological preservation, and institutional identity.

Perspective rendering of the NCTU welcome building with students gathered around the plaza.
NCTU

Location
Hsinchu City, Taiwan

Research Areas
Parametric Design

Typology
School

Size
Large

Status
Complete

Project Team
Carlos Arnaiz

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

The Plan consists of two parts: an overall Master Plan and a newly-designed lakefront student center. The overall Plan integrates the natural landscape into the campus while addressing accessibility issues, while the new student center gives members of the university a better place to study and interact with one another.

CAZA’s Master Plan is centered around the reintroduction of the lake at the heart of this hilltop university campus. We proposed treating the previously invisible lake as an important experiential element, crucial to transforming an urban hardscape campus into a contemplative retreat and green refuge for students, faculty, and visitors.

Conceptual diagrams exploring different design strategies for the NCTU waterfront site.
NCTU

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

The existing parking plan was disorganized and inefficient, so CAZA developed a series of parking lots along the perimeter of the campus, connected through a series of walkways for passengers to enter into central areas of the campus. By keeping cars away from the main campus, CAZA was able to plot a series of parks and green spaces along the new pedestrian footpaths, allowing the area’s natural landscape to permeate this architectural intervention.

The proposal employs modular solutions, parametric design tools, and energy-conscious, metabolic architecture principles to create a more resilient and ecologically attuned campus, establishing a model of sustainable institutional planning aligned with the principles of eco-industrialization.

Masterplan diagram of the NCTU campus showing connectivity, open spaces, and water systems.
NCTU
Schematic site diagram of the NCTU lakefront design showing key elements like the welcome building and water’s edge.
NCTU