Hangzhou, China

Mao Lianping and the design team from Zhejiang University Urban-Rural Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd. with associate architect Jin Xin has expanded the Hangzhou Yuhang Second Senior Middle School with a complex that juxtaposes a sloped green-roofed main building with the horizontal geometries of its library.

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province and the city is located on the lower reaches of the Qiantang River in southeast China, a superior position in the Yangtze Delta and only 180 km from Shanghai.

For the expansion of Hangzhou Yuhang Second Senior Middle School, the architects employed a scheme of horizontal forms, bringing different functions into two overlapping and intersecting volumes.

Hangzhou Yuhang Second Senior  Middle School Expansion has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

In order to meet the ground building function on the limited land, the existing green space was raised and transformed into a roof park. 

The grassy slope connects with the ground, making it a seamless transition and easy for people to reach. 

The main rectangular structure of the library is raised to three floors above, suspended like an aerial think tank. 

This horizontal structure intersects and overlaps with the vertical structure of the ground floor under the roof to form a more integrated campus layout.

The grassy horizontal slopes of the green roof contrast the library building with its red facade.

The library has large glass facades that let in light for comfortable reading.

The separation between pedestrian and vehicle traffic is created by spatial delineations that clearly mark the two.

Project: Hangzhou Yuhang Second Senior Middle School Expansion
Architects: Zhejiang University Urban-Rural Planning and Design Institute Co. Ltd.
Lead Architect: Mao Lianping
Associate Architect: Jin Xin
Design Team: Lin Shangliang, Zhang Jialiang, Mao Meixiang, Chen Yinjun, Sun Yiyuan, Chen Yiping, Mao Mengjun, and Chen Zhenda
Contractor:  Hangzhou Yiwei Ancient Garden Engineering Co., LTD
Client: Hangzhou Yuhang Second Senior Middle School
Photographers: Ke Jianbo and Mao Lianping