News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　The Department of Wood Materials and Design, National Chiayi University, and the Chiayi Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau, have been joining forces to enhance collaboration between academia and industries, and use and development of domestic cedar. After holding “Laminated Veneer Lumber Creative Products Presentation” last March, they have been working together with Dick Engineering Company and Wand Tsai Industrial Co., Ltd. to form a design, mass-production and decoration team. “Happy Tree Exhibition Space” was established with laminated veneer lumber (LVL) of domestic cedar as materials for space design and decoration, complete with the concepts of both exhibition and environmental resources.

　　Han Qian Lin, Dean of the College of Agriculture, NCYU, indicated that the Happy Tree Exhibition Space was founded thanks to the Forestry Bureau Chiayi Forest District Office’s funding and provision of the major materials – domestic cedar. The cedar LVL were mass-produced by Wand Tsai Industrial into decoration materials. The team of the NCYU Department of Wood Materials and Design produced different components by making full use of the equipment and design capacity of the wood processing plant on campus. The Happy Tree Exhibition Space is a culmination of an intricate design featuring a variety of components. It bears witness to the cedar LVL’s innovative and productive quality, and unique properties such as large coverage and better-than-wood stability. In addition to the obvious natural texture as spring and autumn wood, it also boasts straight geometrically parallel lines. Visually, the heart- and sapwood changes from dark reddish brown to yellowish white in form and color. It not only serves as space interiors, supports and natural ornaments, but as base materials for interior decoration, among others.

　　According to Chang Tai, Director of the Chiayi Forest District Office, Forestry Bureau, the Bureau has been promoting the use of “domestic products” since 2017 to increase the domestic timber utilization rate. In conjunction with the sustainable forestry policy, it is expected that the domestic forest utilization rate should reach 3-5% or higher in the next five years. The majority of Taiwan’s domestic timber derives from thinning of small- and medium-sized trees, under the major development policy. Rotary cutting and lamination should be applied to develop cedar LVL products to meet consumer demands. While increasing the domestic timber utilization rate, it is critical to enhance industry chain cooperation, and mass-produce the cedar LVL as commercial materials. When designed as decoration materials for diversified creative exhibition spaces, the cedar LVL, characterized by a beam-column structure and variety in form, can contribute to the development and promotion of the utilization of domestic materials. It is expected to be a new choice for wood processing plants in terms of timber design and manufacturing.

　　As wood production used to be a flourishing industry in Taiwan, the use and development of cedar LVL is key to the recovery of the forestry industry. It is hoped to drive the development of the wood industry in conjunction with the policy on forestry development. The Happy Tree Exhibition Space, with its one-of-a-kind creativity in full bloom, is built at the Sun Moon Lake bus terminal. Symbolizing the idea of extension with the trees, it preserves the natural vitality intrinsic of the cedar, introducing the viewers to a feast of creative design. It also embodies the carbon fixation and carbon footprints that are closely related to environmental sustainability.