In response to the spatial and cultural challenges brought about by an aging society and rural outmigration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) continues to center its University Social Responsibility (USR) initiatives on deepening interdisciplinary and international collaboration. In 2025, the USR-Hub project “From Fields to Stage: A Local Revitalization Experiment” formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Architecture at Waseda University, the Department of Environmental Architecture and Design at The University of Shiga Prefecture, the Guanshan Township Office, and the Guanshan Farmers’ Association in Taitung County. This partnership establishes a cross-national, cross-institutional, and cross-disciplinary collaboration framework. Centered on the concept of “local internationalization,” the partners will jointly engage in the comprehensive planning and design of the public space at the Guanshan Farmers’ Association’s “Rice Country School,” exploring innovative possibilities for rural spatial regeneration and local cultural action.
The project is led by NTUST’s Department of Architecture, with interdisciplinary collaboration from the Department of Information Management. By integrating architectural design expertise, digital management perspectives, and international academic resources, the team addresses structural challenges facing the Guanshan area under the pressures of an aging population and rural outmigration—such as deteriorating public spaces, increasing numbers of vacant buildings, and insufficient cultural capacity. The initiative aims to establish a platform for local practice that is both locally responsive and internationally engaged.
Recently, NTUST’s Department of Architecture led its Japanese partners on a site visit to Guanshan and completed the MOU signing with the Guanshan Township Office and the Guanshan Farmers’ Association, officially launching subsequent design, teaching, and hands-on exchange activities. This milestone demonstrates concrete collaboration among industry, government, and academia in advancing local revitalization, while embodying the spirit of “using local issues as the starting point for international cooperation” and forming a sustainable partnership.
Project Principal Investigator Yang Fu-Fei, Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at NTUST, noted that Japanese society entered the aging phase earlier than Taiwan and has accumulated extensive practical experience in urban-rural regeneration systems and adaptive reuse of vacant spaces—experiences highly relevant to the current situation in Taiwan’s rural communities. Through this collaboration, the project introduces Japan’s expertise in spatial regeneration for aging societies and the integration of design education, transforming these insights into actionable models applicable to Taiwan’s rural contexts. International cooperation, therefore, goes beyond exchange and directly contributes to local implementation and deeper practice.
The project’s primary site is the “Rice Country School” of the Guanshan Farmers’ Association. Originally a wartime grain storage facility, the building lost its original function as agricultural practices and industrial structures evolved. Through years of dedicated operation and revitalization by local residents and the farmers’ association, it has successfully transformed into a public platform integrating cultural performances, agricultural promotion, and food and farming education, becoming an important cultural node in Guanshan. However, as activities have diversified and usage frequency has increased, the existing stage space has gradually revealed issues such as aging facilities, insufficient space, and limited flexibility. A comprehensive planning and design update is urgently needed to meet the diverse demands of cultural revitalization and public use.
The project team therefore plans to renovate the existing granary stage and construct a new outdoor performance space—“Autumn Stage”—in the rice fields on the southern side of the site, serving as the core venue for harvest festivals and local events. The overall design incorporates sustainable design principles and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Driftwood left behind after Typhoon Morakot (the 88 Flood) will be repurposed into locally meaningful recycled building materials. By integrating environmental issues into design education and public space practice, the project deepens students’ understanding of sustainability, locality, and social responsibility.
In terms of teaching and talent cultivation, the project actively guides students in transforming classroom knowledge into real-world design and implementation skills, while encouraging participation in national and international competitions. A proposal for the adaptive reuse of vacant space at the Guanshan site won the Gold Award in the “Sustainable Activation and Reuse” category at the 2025 Taiwan Sustainable Architecture Student Design Competition, demonstrating the concrete outcomes and impact of USR teaching that integrates local issues with international perspectives.
Through the signing of the MOU and this collaboration, NTUST, its Japanese partners, local government, and the farmers’ association will jointly contribute to stage space design concepts, teaching practice, and operational discussions. By promoting multi-stakeholder local engagement, the project ensures that spatial renewal goes beyond facility upgrades, becoming more responsive to residents’ actual needs and cultural contexts, and developing into a rural public venue with cultural, educational, and tourism potential.
“We hope to create a stage, not a battleground,” said Peng Yen-Fang, Director of the Leisure and Tourism Department of the Guanshan Farmers’ Association and a key advocate of the Rice Country School. The stage envisioned by the Rice Country School is not oriented toward competition or winning and losing, but rather serves as an open and inclusive public space. He hopes that more local residents and groups will have the opportunity to step onto the stage and gradually build confidence through ongoing participation and performances. NTUST’s USR-Hub project, “From Fields to Stage: A Local Revitalization Experiment,” echoes this vision by integrating architectural expertise, interdisciplinary teaching, and international collaboration to help transform space into a platform that supports cultural performance and civic participation—building for Guanshan a stage rooted locally yet connected globally, and serving as an important model for rural revitalization in aging communities.
https://www.cna.com.tw/Postwrite/Chi/426734
https://news.pchome.com.tw/living/cna/20260226/index-17720710815253518009.html
https://n.yam.com/Article/20260226436636