in an irregular land encircled by a typical villa area in shanghai, office mass tries to break through the dual restriction of surrounding environment and norms through design strategies to create an ideal space for children in the city. the kindergarten, which looks like an infinity symbol from above, is a colorful complex of classrooms and public spaces with a number of spacious and green inner courtyards.

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
units

 

 

as a bonsai of urban scale, the kindergarten is an idealized space, while the most important thing is to introduce unusual experiences into the daily life of kids. unlike ordinary centralized kindergartens, the architects have decomposed the building into houses, corridors and courtyards. these spatial components, just like building blocks, form one infinity symbol through stacking in a loose order.

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
waiting area

 

 

the rectangular units with cluster layout, are classrooms. the house unit with diagonal sloping roof unifies the two classes at the first and second floor into one mass. the corridor connects the scattered houses in series and accommodates kindergarten’s service spaces. the team has deliberately widened the circular corridor and integrated it with the outdoor space to make it a space for children to hang out, meet and play. the circular corridor and houses split the site into four different styles of courtyards — an open outer courtyard, tortuous east and west inner courtyards, roof garden and tree yard under big trees, where children are free to do exercises, play, plant and climb.

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
yellow staircase

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
painting room

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
interior of the rectangular classroom

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
plant identification garden on the rooftop

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
channel connecting two courtyards

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
entrance space in the morning

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
entrance space in the evening

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
living room

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
west courtyard

 

kindergarten complex in shanghai by office mass is shaped like the infinity symbol
tree courtyard

 

 

project info:

 

name: ∞kindergarten（infinity kindergarten）

architects: office mass

architect in charge: wu hailong

design team: wu hailong, zhao lin, li sanjian, chen liujun, tang chengyin, miao mengna, cheng mengya, guo sibo, wei wei, li shihui, mao guangzhi, luo binhui, zhou jingxuan, yu bin, xu zhijie

construction drawing: UDG

structure: he li, song zewei, guo weibin

HVAC: chen cuiwu, sun gang, huang xiaokan

electrical engineering: chen zhiyuan, yang zongjun

water supply and drainage: kong linglan, hu longshun

BIM: cheng mengya, shua liyu

location: xuefu road, longhao road, jinshan district, shanghai

client: bureau of education, jinshan district, shanghai

site area: 8375 sqm

gross floor area: 5899 sqm

completion date: oct 2017 

photography: su shengliang

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: maria erman | designboom