Yangzhong Foreign Language School Branch Campus / Perform Design Studio
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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 high school with 30 classes. The site boundary is an irregular polygon defined by the surrounding existing conditions. The project is to develop the required large sports field along the east side of the site. The main building, located in the center and west of the site, uses a complex mode of compact learning, to minimize the footprint of the building and at the same time improve the efficiency of use of each space. Through such a comprehensive organization of space, we hope to emphasize the integrity of an essential quality-oriented education.
The specific design strategy arose from the concave arched spaces of the three main facades of the building, matching the main entrance plaza on the south side, the old abandoned 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 river of Lianfeng port and the city center further east. Through dialogue with the urban landscapes and site memories, the new campus began to construct its own unique sense of place.
The learning complex building consists of three courtyard-style blocks and a central connecting block. According to different functional needs, three courtyard blocks are respectively for general learning area, laboratory area and art education area. The central connection block, which we call the center of the campus, includes an open exhibition space on the ground floor, administrative offices and reception on the second floor, a library on the third floor and a roof garden on the fourth floor. It is the center of the campus both physically and spiritually. The atrium patio in the middle of the center of campus is a place of serenity and tranquility. Sunlight through the upper patio opening slowly moves through the atrium. A spiral staircase takes people from the ground floor to the roof garden.
High-volume programs such as the lecture hall, gymnasium, and cafeteria are tucked away at the bottom of two enclosed courtyards, and their roofs serve as platforms for group events, providing students with space to take breaks or outdoor activities.
The building’s compact mode has earned the campus a larger outdoor landscape and sports space. The school plantation is located at the western end of the campus, and it is a buffer and interaction zone between the school and the neighboring community. Carefully created plantings and water features extend into the courtyard across the ground floor. We hope that this campus building, different from the typical ones in the area, can bring new inspirations to people.
