Text description provided by the architects. A campus building not only focuses on the present but also looks to the future; it not only addresses learning needs but also growth needs; it is not only efficient but also vibrant. At the newly-built North Campus of Shenzhen Senior High School Group (hereafter referred to as “North Campus”) where the teaching scene is vibrant, we encourage students to explore knowledge, their surroundings, and the world spontaneously, as learning exists in the dynamic relationship that is built by children and campus resources brick by brick.
A Micro Cluster. From the Present to the Future. The campus is located next to the transportation hub of Shenzhen North Station. Architects have been exploring and creating school designs that integrate with the surrounding urban environment and are oriented toward the future. Here, respecting the current state of exam-oriented education and keeping up with the development trend of all-round education of the future has become the proposition of the project design. The overall campus layout is straightforward and clear. The east side of the main campus axis consists of four strip-shaped teaching buildings that form two academies, accommodating a complete curriculum for primary and secondary schools. This is based on the reality that emphasizes efficiency and supports the competitive and equitable aspects of the education path.
At the same time, the exploration of future education promotes reform while retaining the necessity of the current model. The resource center is pulled away and placed at the core of the campus, using decentralized thinking and design language to break the established spatial order, emphasizing a sense of randomness, richness, and fluidity of the internal space, and making students the protagonists of these spaces. The resource center is made a "Micro Urban Cluster" accommodating functions of expanding extracurricular interest, including but not limited to music, dance, art, calligraphy, and exploration, with the library integrated within. Its multifunctionality, natural appeal, and encouragement of student exploration create a more efficient, shared, and equitable learning experience.
Architecturally, the resource center is covered by a large, organically shaped roof, hovering like a cloud, meeting the needs for shading, ventilation, and rainproofness to adapt to the tropical climate of Shenzhen while also providing ample under-eave activity space within the campus. The design also incorporates the "Purple Castle"-style campus culture of the Shenzhen High School Group, using twelve color combinations on a purple base to create a gradient ceiling. This innovative color design breaks conventional norms, using bold colors to reflect the innocence and adventurous nature of students, while the powerful large-span structure gives the space a primitive sense of strength.
02 Scene Creation. From Efficiency to Vitality. The architects believe that children's most precious time is spent on campus, and every detail of campus space subtly influences their perception of the city, nature, and environment, even shaping their character. The design emphasizes creating fragmented spatial scenes, enabling students to continuously encounter pleasant surprises while exploring the campus.
The flexible teaching spaces, spontaneously used and interpreted by teachers and students, also align more closely with the future concept of open education. In its teaching space, the design constructs a three-dimensional campus transportation system through "ground-floor courtyards + outer corridors of teaching units + aerial corridors." Combined with multi-level terraces, platforms, and rooftop gardens, this creates a rich campus scene for students, providing multiple daily experiences beyond classes.
At every corner of each floor, platforms are designed for children to freely gaze, with natural platforms breaking the regular rhythm of the teaching buildings. Teachers and students moving within the campus become part of the urban background, making the facade more expressive and presenting an open and outward-looking character to the community. The three-story elevated design of the main entrance, in harmony with the urban park situated in the south, creates an open yet ceremonial urban interface. It provides a sheltered area for the gathering and evacuation of people, with the overall facade providing a rich spatial experience through the interplay of light and shadow.
The campus's east facade features a mountain-like undulating landscape platform, serving as a continuous activity area, so that students feel as if they are roaming over in the mountains. The free-form curves also make the space fluid, with its poetic shape becoming a unique place carrying memories of student life. The North Campus of Shenzhen Senior High School Project marks yet another bold breakthrough in Huayang’s Future School series. Based on reflections on current Chinese education, it integrates architects' understanding of education and space, carrying the expectations for the next-gen architecture and people.
