crossboundaries builds pop-up school 'INFINITY 6' with shipping containers

crossboundaries presents its latest installation ‘INFINITY 6,’ a sample prefab pop-up school sited in shenzhen, representing its ideas for future schools with six key points. the project is fabricated of twelve shipping containers and is imagined as a whimsical manifesto of children’s learning spaces, where visitors can experience and encounter a glimpse of its principles. the installation makes up part of the group exhibition for the 2019 shenzhen-hong kong biennale, themed around potential models for future schools and the possibilities of prefabrication and modularization in the realm of educational buildings. the group exhibition contains five installations in total, all utilizing the standard shipping container module provided by the organizers.

all images by bai yu

crossboundaries organizes INFINITY 6 with an interlocking X-shape which generates plazas of varying sizes and atmospheres, the whole structure open and welcoming from every approach. this idea ripples through our vision of future where school extends beyond its walls and becomes an open, interactive space. in the world in which education is becoming a lifelong journey, no longer limited to certain age, place or linear teaching programs, the notion of school should transform as well, to include more flexible, improvisational and collaborative mindset. INFINITY 6 is a small demo of this future school vision. it’s an infrastructural beginning of a thought that can be further multiplied, added on and plugged into the existing cities.

with INFINITY 6, the team at crossboundaries expresses its vision through six principles: the school should be a shared place of gathering, a hub and an incubator of social interaction that engages not only students and teachers but entire community — the school should provide a richness in spatial experiences for children, blurring the separation between inside and outside, not only in context of space but also in terms of what kind of activities occur in these spaces. the classroom can spill out in the school yard or hallway or city and nature can be brought inside — providing a private space as an antidote to gathering is essential in offering a recluse, a place of calm and isolation that allows for individuality and encourages deep thinking.

even a small effort in adding texture and color to the sensory palette of school exterior and interior, combined with kids’ unrestrained imagination can significantly expand and enrich the daily learning experiences — generous openings on the building facade can integrate the school with its surroundings by providing the glimpses into the school’s inner world and framing the interesting views of the city. the windows can extend their role further by becoming small reading niches that participate in the new dynamic way the learning can occur outside the classroom — finally, the school should be conceived as a smart, evolving space that encourages interactivity, embraces unpredictability of skills that future will require and thrives on the notion of constant adaptation and change.