Since 2020, the College of Design at Chung Yuan Christian University has launched the “Design Together 1.0: Freshman Basic Design Workshop,” held annually for five consecutive years, establishing a new tradition in Chung Yuan’s design education. The 2024 “Design Together 5.0” workshop attracted 340 enthusiastic faculty and students from the College, fostering cross-disciplinary design exchange within the College and once again showcasing the diversity and unity of Chung Yuan’s design education.
This unique workshop brings together faculty and students from the College of Design’s departments, including Architecture, Commercial Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Indigenous Programs, and the UK OBU Program. It enables students from diverse design disciplines to recognize and appreciate each other’s uniqueness despite curriculum differences. Over 300 works, showcasing creativity and quality in drawings and models, were displayed at the Jong Juo-Chang Memorial Hall and professionally reviewed across six venues. Through this platform, participants gain valuable opportunities for cross-departmental observation, professional feedback, and skill enhancement. The event provides a rare learning experience, fostering inspiration among experts and beginners across different design backgrounds.
The 2024 “Design Together 5.0” event, featuring reviews, exhibitions, voting, and an award ceremony, concluded successfully in early October, with Professor Chen Yu-Jin from the Department of Architecture overseeing the updated design theme. This year, the event brought together 32 instructors, 21 assistants/TAs, and 287 students, totaling 340 participants. In the end, 44 Best Design Awards and 66 Most Popular Awards were presented. The next “Design Together 6.0” (2025) will be organized by the Department of Interior Design. During the awards ceremony, a short film documenting four years of this challenging yet inspiring journey, created by Professor Hsieh Tong-Sheng, was shown.
Following the event, the College of Design upheld its new tradition by gathering for a group photo on the campus cross lawn under the autumn sun, marking a perfect conclusion to this annual design festival. As Professor Hsieh Tong-Sheng, the organizer of the first event, remarked, “It would be challenging to find such an environment for design education exchange in Taiwan today. Even organizing activities across different year levels within a single department is difficult, let alone integrating multiple departments to achieve a significant collaborative project. This kind of experience likely only happens at Chung Yuan Christian University!”
