Gongdong High School Chapel Building Introduction
Gongdong Senior Vocational School, planned and established by Father Jean-Marie Guitton of the Missionaries of La Salette in 1957, was one of the key missions of the La Salette Mission during its early stage of evangelization in Taiwan. Its primary aim was to assist young people from remote areas of Hualien and Taitung to find better opportunities for life development through vocational education, while also nurturing the manpower needed for Taiwan's industrial development. The teaching at Gongdong Senior Vocational School is very rigorous; during its initial ten years, instruction was mainly provided by 15 Swiss technicians, and the teaching materials and methods were introduced from Europe. This has established Gongdong Senior Vocational School as one of the most renowned institutions in Taiwan's vocational education sector, cultivating numerous talented individuals who have specialized knowledge and have received international awards. In addition to its prominent reputation in vocational education in recent years, the campus architecture reflects the La Salette Mission's careful considerations for the establishment of Gongdong Senior Vocational School. Notably, an architect, Dr. Justurs Dahinden, was employed from Switzerland, collaborating seamlessly with structural engineer Dr. Schubiger to create outstanding campus buildings. The unique panel structure design and coordination of the architectural design resulted in a rebar usage that was only half of that of typical constructions, which was a thoughtful approach given the scarcity and high cost of building materials at the time. Among the three early campus buildings, the chapel building, in particular, is noteworthy. The small chapel on the top floor utilizes a sloped roof, rough-cast concrete walls, and subtle dramatic skylights and stained glass in the walls, creating a heavy, dim, and contemplative sacred space filled with religious symbolism, comparable to the spatial methods used by renowned architect Le Corbusier in the Church of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette and the Abbey of La Tourette. After its completion, the campus quickly became a focus of attention for local architects and gained such recognition that it featured in the professional magazine "Architecture." In recent years, academic theses have analyzed this building, and professional photographers have created rich illustrated photo books about the chapel building and Father Guitton. This has made the chapel building not only a well-known pilgrimage site in the architecture community but, due to its unique design and historical background, was registered as a historical building in 2003, gradually becoming a spot that travelers include in their visits when traveling to Taitung!
