Hangzhou, China
The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University strove to create a space full of sunshine and vitality for children while meeting functional demands through a series of design strategies
The project was short-listed for a 2021 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
A Creation Satisfying “High Demands” on “Small Plot”
Surrounded by high-density residential high-rises in Qianjiang New Town (Hangzhou CBD), Hangzhou Shengli Primary School Affiliated Kindergarten is developed on limited land, covering less than 3,900 sqm.
However, it has to satisfy the scale of nine classes and diverse functions.
The outdoor area and natural environment are the key spaces for children’s healthy development. In order to create as much outdoor activity spaces as possible and reduce the impact of shadows casted by south-facing residential towers and the primary school, the kindergarten’s building blocks are centrally located along the eastern, northern, and western site red lines, enclosing tranquil and spacious outdoor spaces.
As the most frequently used activity spaces for children, the teaching units are embedded into the entire building block with staggered south-facing boxes so as to make classrooms exposed to more sunlight.
To handle the contradiction between functional area and floor area ratio, the architects tried to borrow spaces from the underground and rooftop terrace, arrange auxiliary rooms such as multi-functional activity room and kitchen in the basement, and set skylights, high side windows, and sunken courtyards to ensure sufficient ventilation and lighting.
Moreover, the rooftop terraces on the first and second floors are used to offer more safe outdoor venues for children.
Through the design of light and shadows, the architects managed to create an imagination-provoking space for children. The atrium of the main entrance hall is a space full of light. Pouring from the rounded triangular skylight, the natural light casts shadows through the handrails of the straight stairs. In the afternoon, the light shines obliquely from the windows on the west into the atrium
Children enjoy running and playing along the stairs in the atrium, chasing the changing shadows, which keeps in line with the life education concept of “inspiring the vitality of the children and promoting their a sense of autonomy.” For the teaching units, the floor-to-ceiling window is segmented into staggered rectangles, which inspire children’s creativity. In the semi-basement activity space, the three skylights with different colors and special shapes attract children to look up, meditating and explore the mysterious light.
The facade is assembled with randomly placed windows of different sizes, conveying the idea of free creativity. These windows have different heights indoors as well, which provide various usages for sitting, leaning, and looking up as children grow up, enabling them to experience different insights of observing the outside world.
Drawing inspiration from the logo of Shengli Primary School, the architects selected yellow, blue, and green as the three primary colors of the design, and triggered a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere through design techniques of embellishment and contrast.
Against the background of the overall light gray facade, the teaching unit volumes highlight the image as floating boxes through the bright three primary colors and make them easy to be identified by the children. Within the teaching units, however, the interior space is dominated by milky white walls and wooden floors to build a warm atmosphere.
According to the different needs on duration, lighting, and height of the activity area and the nap area, the architects adopted a loft design for spaces with a height of 4.5 meters, giving the children a unique experience of flowing space as well as the high efficiency of spatial utilization. In the bright milky indoor space, colors are applied as a hint of continuation or division of the space in partial areas. For example, the atrium connects the ground, stairs, corridors, and skylights by blue ribbons to elevate the integrity of the space.
The window frames of the corridor on each floor of teaching units are painted with different three primary colors, available for children to know where they are.
IV. Continuous and Gradual Co-construction Process
From the beginning of the project to the opening of the kindergarten for one year, the whole space construction and even the perfection of utilization cannot be separated from the continuous communication between architects and all participants.
In order to promote children’s spatial cognition and experience, the architects set up a full-height atrium with straight stairs, and this functional space is well respected by all participants through communication at the beginning.
The architects also actively adopted suggestions from the client, leaving an array of blank spaces for both the teachers and students to arrange and decorate the space on their own.
The teachers and other users well understand and respect the design and make the best of it by interaction, adaptation, and adjustment of the spaces.
Teaching, gaming, and communication activities are flexibly incorporated into the teaching units, activity room, and even the atrium, corridors, and outdoor venues, making the children enjoy the experience and exploration in different spaces.
Project: Hangzhou Shengli Primary School Affiliated Kindergarten
Architects: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd.
Client: Hangzhou Qiangjiang New Town Construction Command Center
Contractor: Tongda Group
Photographers: ZY Studio
