This is a nine-year primary and secondary school. We designed meandering linear buildings that were in harmony with the mountains and rivers. We named the campus “Nine Turnings Garden”(Jiuqu Yuan in Chinese), which divided the campus into several semi-open courtyards.
When we started the design, we developed several strategies to control costs. For example, we minimized the usage of irregular shapes and curves; we avoided designing high-cost structures; the window-wall ratio is controlled to reduce windows while ensuring good ventilation and lighting; we used pure spatial forms to narrate our design concept, rather than using unnecessary decorative elements, exquisite material and details.
Therefore, we chose abstract white mass shapes to express the feeling of volume, while weakening the construction expression. This would make the errors in details during construction do not affect the overall effect of the architectures.
The campuses in Southern China have low-carbon energy-saving buildings, since classrooms have natural lighting and ventilation, while corridors and stairs are semi-outer space. However, they are not necessarily comfortable. For example, people in Lingnan areas need more shady space rather than space with excessive sunlight. The opened corridors, stairs, overhead floors are often very small, so they would be easily become too hot to stay. Most of the time, these space is not very comfortable.
However, in traditional dwellings in Lingnan, thick walls, small windows and narrow courtyards can provide much cool and shady space, just like caves in the natural environment.
We tried to use the logic of caves to design the campus. In certain parts of buildings, such as the teaching building verandas, the arcade of the first floor, some stairs and the stadium, we use solid walls and limited openings to form the facades. After the construction was completed, the space throughout the buildings is bright, cool and comfortable.