Not factories – Public schools in Shanghai are conservative in their pedagogy and factory-like in their architecture. The new Chonggu Experimental School, however, provides the potential for a shift in pedagogy from the traditional disciplinary model to less formal, inquiry-based approaches. It also presents a paradigm shift in formal expression – a design shaped for joy, play, and dreaming.
Sometimes very ordinary client requests lead to surprising twists and turns and final solutions. Due to the growing number of children and limited space of the school, the school management decided to locate the new classroom in a two-story hall in the center of the school. Such a classroom would not have had adequate lighting and would have had no direct contact with the outside. In addition, the hall is a common space for all pupils. We have therefore proposed a replacement – instead of a classroom, a new library should be placed in the hall. Consequently, the new classroom would be located in the space previously occupied by the library.
The new school building for Het Element combines two pre-vocational secondary schools, three sports halls, a dojo and a language center. By choosing a compact volume, we create extra green outdoor space, short walking distances and a vibrant central heart to which all the different clusters are connected.
The project is organized around a central corridor which distributes all the spaces and folds with the building, thus constructing “a strong form” which organizes the interior and exterior spaces while adapting to the site.
The building has two levels. The ground floor is dedicated to large premises and includes all the secondary activities of the college (gymnasium, learning resources center, school life, catering, etc.). The first floor is made up of 10 general education rooms, technical teaching rooms, as well as spaces dedicated to teaching teams.
Concrete, oak and glass constitute the main materials of the envelope, and strongly qualify the project by providing durability, durability, resistance, with simple and inexpensive maintenance.
Sun’ao Primary School Site
Sun’ao Primary School was located in the mountains of Wangtan Town, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, occupying an area of 1.7 acres(6700m2). The site was oriented from south to north, with mountains to the southeast, and village and rice fields to the northwest. The school has been abandoned for many years, with most of the buildings in ruins and unusable, however, the main building, site foundation, and planting were still in good condition.
The school is designed to serve 50 preschool students. Before the construction of the school, the students had to study temporarily in a small communal house due to the lack of classrooms. The chosen location for the construction of the school is conveniently accessible for children aged 3-5 to travel to the school safely. It is situated near the village road and adjacent to a football field where daily sports activities for youth take place.
The school is designed to serve 50 preschool students. Before the construction of the school, the students had to study temporarily in a small communal house due to the lack of classrooms. The chosen location for the construction of the school is conveniently accessible for children aged 3-5 to travel to the school safely. It is situated near the village road and adjacent to a football field where daily sports activities for youth take place.
The extension to the Cologne-Lindweiler primary school, an open all-day school, was built in nine months using modular timber construction. Nine classes can now be accommodated at this location. The compact two-story structure with a light-colored facing brick façade and elongated wood-aluminum window elements responds to the existing school building with a calm and clear geometry.
The middle school, built in 1966 and now renamed after Josephine Baker, just underwent a radical transformation. Replacing an aging building on the same site, the entirely new building provides students and teachers with greatly enriched surroundings and opens a new chapter in the school’s history. The new construction also has the capacity to receive 600 students and possesses an auditorium and a gymnasium.
The Challenge. The density of cities today is much higher than it used to be and is still increasing. What are the main differences between a primary school in a high-density environment and one in a low-density environment in the past? As density increases, the height of the school building inevitably increases, which means the opportunities for students to go down to the outdoor space on the ground level are correspondingly reduced. Outdoor activities are critical to the development of children, and we focused on solving this problem when designing the school building.
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