Chongqing, China

Located in Chongqing City, the Chongqing Nankai LiangJiang Secondary School designed by gad- Qingdao Greentown Architectural Design integrates individualized educational thinking into the campus environment.

Thanks to the School’s great tolerance of design ideas, it is the entry point for the design to give full play to the design ingenuity within a limited venue and achieve maximized functions while improving the space efficiency and enriching campus life.

The teaching buildings of the headquarters campus present a layout encompassing the library.

It is speculated that the campus space scale of such a layout is more abundant, so the current design also follows the spatial logic of the headquarters campus of Chongqing Nankai Middle School.

However, within the base area, the height difference, noise, and land use range constitute the design constraints.

Not only is the space efficiency taken into consideration, but the spirit of openness and enterprising in the campus culture of Chongqing Nankai Middle School also affects the consideration of the design of the Secondary School.

 In order to achieve an efficient class transfer route, a continuous and clear traffic streamline is adopted for the outer ring of classrooms, while the route of the inner ring of classrooms is relatively free and blurred, making walking in the space full of efficiency and fun.

In traditional campuses, nature and education are like two separate systems that are naturally blocked, so the architects want to introduce nature into the campus.

Outside the annulus teaching buildings, there presents a forest state, which separates the hustle and bustle of the city.

A central garden is set up in the inner ring, with overlapping and undulating objects, ensuring transparency and connection between the inside and outside.

Along the outer ring and the inner ring, there are different teaching spaces of different sizes.

The outer ring of classrooms emphasizes efficiency in streamlining.

The inner ring of classrooms is generally those for elective courses that are more active and are freely distributed.

Beyond the annulus buildings, there is the students’ accommodation building that forms a “10” shape with the teaching buildings in the plane view.

The arrangement is actually to facilitate the division of functions and streamlines, to fully accommodates the necessary functions within the limited land area, and to avoid the staggered influence of streamlines.

The forest and the canyon inside and outside the ring seem to be clearly separated by a line.

A campus with orderly arranged static and dynamic spaces will serve as a vitality catalyst for the 10-minute break time between classes.

The inner courtyard is full of ups and downs like a canyon.

The academic lecture hall and the auditorium are built along the way, where the ecological atmosphere is not scarce.

The inner modular ceiling provides the necessary light control for the site, and the vertical facade uses vertical grilles to block the direct light of the blackboard area, which also adds some rhythm to the space.

After class, the originally quiet campus is instantly rejuvenated.

There is a football field, a basketball court, and other sports venues in the School.

The rooftop of the annulus buildings is also a 628-meter-long footpath, allowing the teenagers to shape and grow their bodies, personality, and thoughts at the same time as gaining knowledge.

The designers deliberately leave some places blank, allowing users to discover and activate them, creating unknown vitality sites.

Project: Chongqing Nankai LiangJiang Secondary School
Architects: gad Qingdao Greentown Architectural Design Co.Ltd
Lead Architect: Qiulong Zhu
Design team: Yan Wu, Xin Guo, Yang Yu, Yu Guo, Yuanxing Cao, Siyuan Zeng, Lu Gan, Ning Kang, Lingyan, Wang, Lin Li, Zhen Lu, Kai Tang, Xiangpeng Xing, Jianwei Yang, Lu Zhng, and Min Li
Client: Chongqing Liang Jiang New District Xixnnan Education Information Consulting Service Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Yi Fan, Jinrong Huang, and Guangkun Yang