蘑菇云

Project Overview

Ningbo Gulin Vocational High School is a new campus that accommodates around 3,000 students distributed across 75 classes, spanning four specialized departments: preschool education, culinary arts, arts and crafts, and e-commerce. Situated in Ningbo's Haishu District, China, the project encompasses two distinct plots, with a combined land area of approximately 96,851 square meters.

Concept & Challenges

Historically, school designs have adhered to similar layouts dictated by traditional pedagogical models, functional configurations, and stringent regulations governing lighting, ventilation, and acoustics. The constrained scope for spatial innovation within campus design poses challenges when it comes to accommodating alternative pedagogical approaches. Conventional campus designs also typically entail isolated teaching units that enclose open spaces, yielding uniform spatial arrangements that hinder student interaction and communication. The traditional, mono-function campus designs cannot adapt to contemporary educational paradigms, which prioritize cross-disciplinary education, informal learning, and experiential pedagogy. Consequently, the conventional architectural approach in educational institutions falls short of accommodating the contemporary vision for education.

“Mille- Feuille”: Mat Urbanism and Non-Orthogonal Courtyard

The project challenges the traditional notion of an efficient construction system in China, which typically follows an orthogonal 8.4m x 8.4m grid. Instead, we explored alternative spatial configurations by introducing a non-orthogonal grid system. By introducing a twist to the conventional orthogonal grid system in the mat courtyard typology, we integrate the building better with the site, enhancing informal educational spaces and overall lighting quality. The interconnections of the internal courtyards not only improve the efficiency of on-campus traffic but also foster interdisciplinary communication and collaboration.

Furthermore, the internal courtyards within various educational spaces are marked by their unique flooring, color palettes, material choices, vertical design elements, and spaces. These elements serve as visual markers and contribute to distinct spatial experiences, helping students find their way around the campus without falling into a monotonous routine. By creating multiple courtyards with diverse attributes and functions, the design constructs a microcosmic city that can enable a multitude of events, spaces, and stories, transforming the traditional closed teaching model into an open and engaging experience.

“Roaming Map”: Continuous Loop System

Designing a vocational high school presented a specific set of challenges. In contrast to the conventional classroom layout in general high schools, vocational high schools feature a substantial number of vocational training rooms alongside standard classrooms. Students must navigate between various classrooms efficiently, necessitating a new design of both horizontal and vertical circulations to facilitate traffic between diverse areas of specialization and functions. In this project, we embraced an unconventional architectural approach by designing the school as a versatile place that caters to various functions, including learning, living, and events. The second level of the school is interconnected through a continuous loop circulation, enabling covered access from the auditorium, library, and classrooms to the courtyards. Furthermore, all departments within the school are interlinked through courtyards, facilitating cross-disciplinary interactions and ensuring efficient circulation. Various landscapes, combining water reflecting pool, rooftop gardens, and courtyard gardens, create a diverse learning environment. The continuous loop system connects indoor and outdoor spaces, ensuring all-weather accessibility and enhancing the experience for social activities and informal learning. Shared corridors and landscaped courtyards enable students to experience seasonal changes between classes.

Immersive Theater: School as an Immersive Theater that Invites Multi-authored Narratives

We wanted to create an immersive and interactive campus. The open framework of the design invites multi-authored narratives. Students are the directors of their own daily encounters and plot developments, devising their own narratives through choosing different paths to take on campus. Instead of creating a preconceived coherence, the design embraces collective authorship in the uses of the school to stimulate the improvisational, the uncertain, and the multiplicity of meanings.

Constructing World Views: School and the City

School offers a multitude of daily experiences beyond classrooms. This project conceives the campus not as a single or a group of buildings but as a miniature city that creates diverse experiences and memories. In contrast to the closed centrality often found in conventional pedagogical models, the urban design framework used for this school seeks to produce an environment that fosters creativity across various disciplines through the creation of informal learning spaces at different campus levels, interconnected pathways linking different departments, and flexible layouts that can accommodate future uses. These spaces promote collaboration and interactive participation, resulting in a non-linear, flexible, and immersive urban environment that challenges the closed centrality often seen in conventional school designs.