The Gymnasium of South China Agricultural University (SCAU), the first university gymnasium in South China to adopt an open community design, redefines the sports architecture. Rejecting conventional enclosed forms, it integrates shared community services and mixed-use functions while creating vibrant outdoor spaces—including a tree-canopy square, skatepark, pedestrian arcade, and multi-level platform—to serve as a dynamic hub for campus and community activities. By prioritizing daily usability, the design strengthens its integration into campus life, fostering a lively, multifunctional space that enriches university landscapes with new social memories.

23.7 meters in height, the three-floor, 52,450 m² complex houses a main competition hall, training facilities, and a natatorium. Located east of SCAU’s main entrance, it is accessible to external communities while anchoring the campus’s east-west axis. The 440-meter-long site, sloping 13 meters vertically, bridges the western teaching area and eastern living quarters. Situated along frequent commuting routes, the gymnasium acts as both a social catalyst and a transitional space between campus zones. Its receding volumes and understated façades harmonize with existing mature trees, ensuring seamless integration into the surrounding landscape.

Emphasizing community engagement, the design employs open layouts and mixed functions to transform the gymnasium into an interactive hub. Key amenities—including swimming pools, tennis courts, and training halls—are designed with transparent interfaces and positioned along campus main roads, while skateparks, climbing walls, and gyms line pedestrian pathways to encourage spontaneous interaction. This strategy not only enhances accessibility but also blurs boundaries between sports infrastructure and everyday campus life, creating a vibrant node that bridges functionality and social connectivity. Meanwhile, cafeteria and lounges are provided in the lobbies of the training hall and the natatorium, while community service functions such as stores offering cold drinks and sports goods are planned on the elevated F1. Together with steps and seats, etc., they create more public community spaces for daily social interactions among teachers and students. Such an open and integrated design approach makes the Gymnasium no longer a closed venue, but an open, vibrant community for interactions.

• Chief Designers: He Jingtang, Qiu Jianfa, Bao Ying
Team：
• Architectural design: Jiang Fan, Chen Haonan, Chen Zhidong, Zeng Xianze, Liu Xiao, Zou Hongsheng, Huang Peining, Huang Zhishan, Cao Yunye, Tang Zhihong, Liao Yuqi, Luo Hongjie, Lv Yating
• Structural design: Guo Yuanxiang, Liao Shaoshan, Shen Xuelong, Yue Guoming
• HVAC design: Huang Pujie, He Yaobing, Zou Yujin
• Water supply and drainage design: Cen Hongjin, Yan Zhenghui, Chen Yantao
• Electrical design: Yu Yang, Guo Shijia, Jiang Hongye, Chen Huajian
• Intelligent design: Geng Wangyang, Chen Yuhong, Fan Ximei
• Energy-saving design: Hu Wenbin, Wu Chenchen, Xu Lingling
• Interior design: Jiang Wenyi, Yang Guangfa, Qin Lu
• Landscape design: Zeng Xianze, He Shaobing, Lin Xusheng, Xie Fupeng, Ye Zhiquan, Hu Jingmin
• Guide system design: Wu Wei, Cui Hao
• Cost design: Liu Jiajun, Chen Ying, Luo Jianpei, Zhong Lijia, He Yanlong, Zeng Bo
• Technical representative of the construction unit: Zeng Jingwen
• Photographer：Zhan Changheng, Xu Mian, Qiu Jianfa, Zeng Xiance