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Architects: Perform Design Studio
- Area: 27000 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Lian He
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Lead Architect: Qian Li
Text description provided by the architects. Yangzhong Foreign Language School Branch Campus is located in the western suburb of Yangzhong City, Jiangsu Province. It covers an area of about 10 acres and is a newly established public junior high school with 30 classes. The site boundary is an irregular polygon defined by the surrounding existing conditions. The scheme is to arrange the required large sports field along the east side of the site. The main building, located on the middle and west part of the site, utilizes a compact learning complex mode, to minimize the building footprint and meanwhile improve the efficiency of use of each space. Through such overall space organization, we hope to emphasize the integrity of essential-quality-oriented education.
The specific design strategy originated from the concave arc spaces of the three main facades of the building, corresponding to the main entrance plaza on the south side, the abandoned old junior high school campus buildings across the road further south, the existing river on the northwest side, the sports field on the east side, and the Lianfeng Port River and the downtown area further east. Through the dialogue with urban landscapes and site memories, the new campus began to build its own unique sense of place.
The learning complex building consists of three courtyard-style blocks and a central connection block. According to the different functional needs, three courtyard blocks are respectively for the general learning zone, the laboratory zone and the art education zone. The central connection block, which we call the campus center, has an open exhibition space on the ground piloti floor, the administration offices and reception area on the second floor, a library on the third floor, and a roof garden on the fourth floor. This is the campus center both physically and spiritually. The atrium patio in the middle of the campus center is a place of serenity and peacefulness. The sunlight through the top opening of the patio moves slowly across the atrium. A spiraling stair takes people from the ground floor to the roof garden.
Large volume programs such as the lecture hall, gymnasium and cafeteria are hidden on the bottoms of two enclosed courtyards, and their roofs serve as platforms for group events, providing space for students to have breaks or outdoor activities.
The compact mode of the building has earned the campus a larger outdoor landscape and sports venue area. The school's plantation is located on the west edge of the campus, and it is a buffer and interaction zone between the school and the neighboring community. Carefully created plantations and water features extend into the courtyard through the ground piloti floor.We hope that this campus building which is unlike those typical ones in the local area could bring some new inspirations to people.
