zhubo-aao and H design bring colorful outdoor learning to school in shenzhen

architects, zhubo-aao, and interior designers, H design, have formed the longyuan school, located in shenzhen, china. the school is a nine-year comprehensive campus that caters for 3,360 students in 72 classes. the concept behind the scheme is based on the idea of ‘creating a nature-friendly open teaching environment’. inspired by the combination of corridors and alleys in traditional chinese architecture and focused on principles of openness and flexibility, colorful outdoor learning and interactive spaces are created.

the initial approach to the brief by zhubo-aao and H design was to study the teaching content and methods, and the differing needs of the children. as a result, the project creates diverse and more playful spaces for younger students, and quieter, independent spaces for older, more mature learners. based on these requirements, the longyuan school takes on an L-shaped plan, with a courtyard positioned centrally on a green slope to create a garden-like campus environment.

the administrative office building is placed at the entrance to facilitate the management of traffic flow. a canteen is located in the southwest corner of the site to facilitate logistics and transportation. acting as a partition between the teaching area and sports area, a social corridor runs through the whole campus like a ‘dreamy passageway.’ five different color masses are employed in the design to give different functions a clear identity, while being connected by corridors, stairs and ramps. at the same time, a lot of diverse social spaces such as platforms and staircase spaces are added into the corridors. children are able to stroll, play, meet, communicate and discuss here, making learning a fun way of life.

the main spatial layout of the school is divided into the primary school teaching building, middle school teaching building, lecture theater, corridor area, gymnasium, staff dormitory building and canteen. different functional areas are connected with each other through steps, ramps, lanes, corridors and courtyards, creating an interactive teaching space. overall, the design of the longyuan school breaks with traditional educational facilities to provide a modern style fo teaching that incorporates not only indoor classrooms, but also outdoor teaching places. 

project info:

project name: longyuan school affiliated to central china normal university

project location: shenzhen, china

construction area: 52439.47㎡

interior design: H design

design team: hu kun, zhang wei, zhang min, rachel guo, zhou fulong, dan peng, qin qinsong, ye suhang

architect: zhubo-aao

design team: zhong qiao, john siu, li yisheng, cao taiming, qu yu, zhu huanhuan, chen pu, li zhuangwei, zhong hanlu, chen zhuo

photography: su shengliang, wu qingshan, john siu

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: lynne myers | designboom