Educator Carl Jaspers once said that education should be “one tree shaking another tree, one cloud pushing another cloud, one soul awakening another soul.” Its core mission is to nurture the human spirit. However, traditional educational structures struggle to keep pace with the evolving, open concepts of modern education.
This project explores how to create an innovative campus enveloped by lush greenery, freeing nature and fostering a warm, welcoming atmosphere within traditional campus buildings that often feel confined and neglected. The goal is to provide valuable insights for the future design of school buildings in China, exemplified through the innovative design of Baixi Primary and Secondary School.
△ Real scene integration image
01 Planning Conditions
The project must accommodate 36 primary school classes and 30 secondary school classes, requiring a total land area of 63,936 square meters based on standards of 19.88 square meters per primary school student and 21.24 square meters per secondary school student. This is a relatively tight fit compared to the 496 million square meters referenced in the task book.
The site spans approximately 158 meters east to west, with a height variation of 40 meters, and a north-south length with a maximum elevation difference of 52 meters. The clearly mountainous terrain poses challenges for high-density building layouts. Additionally, the plan must include a 400-meter standard playground.
Two 220 kV high-voltage power lines run along the west boundary on the north and south sides, making it unsuitable to position teaching buildings on the western edge of the site.
△ Height difference of the site
02 Strategy
The future of schools may transcend traditional definitions, evolving into multifunctional spaces like amusement parks, science museums, sports fields, or even small communities and large parks. Schools should create diverse physical environments tailored to students’ individual preferences and characteristics, supporting quality education development.
More importantly, the integration of learning and life creates dynamic, transformative experiences for students.
△ Conceptual sketch
Dream Forest+Park
The design deeply respects the site’s ecological context by uniting park green spaces, Heigou Reservoir, school grounds, and municipal green areas into one cohesive plan. A “large flat layer” organically connects the surrounding green spaces, completing the final piece of the green puzzle.
The undulating flat roof incorporates skylights, promoting natural ventilation and lighting for the spaces below. This green roof forms rich spatial nodes and offers open rooftop platforms, providing children with a “dream paradise” on the otherwise limited land, encouraging them to embrace nature and explore boldly.
△ Green Puzzle
Dream Forest Park
Shared Complex
The teaching spaces function like neurons, with students moving dynamically throughout. Quality education’s growth has heightened demand for comprehensive courses and frequent interaction.
This project creates a “super neuron” complex, concentrating quality education facilities—such as libraries, sheltered playgrounds, cultural and art spaces—shared by both primary and secondary schools under a “large flat roof.” This forms a vast “education sharing complex” within the campus, strengthening the quality education system.
△ Shared Complex
Independent Clusters
The campus’s basic teaching units are arranged in clusters, with buildings staggered to form four independent “mountain-shaped” groups. This layout allows students from different grades to attend classes independently without interference.
The staggered arrangement creates shared terraces that serve as gathering spaces for student interaction. These four teaching clusters hover above the undulating roof, echoing the hilly terrain of the mountain city and shaping a park-style school nestled in the hills.
△ Independent Campus Clusters
Community Integration
Traditional schools often remain closed to the public due to limited space and safety concerns. However, during long winter and summer breaks, campuses sit unused, representing a waste of public resources.
The “vertical campus” concept, inspired by the site’s elevation differences, offers a practical solution. Independently arranged teaching units combined with vertical circulation systems create secure, separate entrances and exits. This design allows individual teaching units to operate independently while keeping the campus safe.
Meanwhile, the campus’s educational complex—such as the library and playground—remains fully accessible to the public.
△ Community Integration
03 Form Generation
On the site’s flatter side, an “Education Sharing Complex” is embedded to centralize functions. Internal spaces are arranged to create courtyards on the roof that promote natural light and ventilation.
The main campus entrance faces Jintong Avenue and features the “Starlight Hall,” a spiritual landmark filling children’s lives with hope and serving as a welcoming square for parents during drop-off and pick-up.
Above the roof float four independent teaching clusters. Core classrooms are modular, integrating seamlessly within each cluster to form central teaching areas.
Through careful form optimization, a staggered and orderly spatial composition emerges, covering rooftops, terraces, and a comprehensive green system.
△ Form generation process
04 Scene Creation
The generous architectural setbacks create ample landscaping opportunities, surrounding classrooms with lush greenery and offering a pleasant learning environment.
Larger terraces accommodate engaging interactive spaces for student communication and can double as outdoor classrooms for activities like gardening or night sky observation.
△ Scene axis measurement
△ Scene axis measurement
△ Scene axis measurement
This design addresses the site’s significant elevation changes by creating a multi-layered ground plan that fosters a more three-dimensional social space for children, forming a “vertical campus” spatial layout.
Simultaneously, the “super shared roof” weaves into the surrounding urban landscape. Building clusters float above this undulating roof, resembling four urban peninsulas drifting amidst mountains and forests.
△ Integration of bird’s-eye view and real-life scenes
At night, the school shines brightly during self-study sessions. The teaching clusters appear like boats floating on waves, symbolizing students sailing forward with energy and determination.
△ Night scene rendering
Morning mist gently rises from the lake, enveloping the campus in quiet elegance as it prepares to welcome a magical day for the children.
Perspective view of Nanzhu Road on the west side
The municipal park to the east spans 40 meters from the main city road. The elevated building design allows the park’s landscape to seamlessly flow into the campus, creating a borderless integration of architecture, landscape, and interior space.
△ Perspective along Jintong Avenue
The entrance hall breaks from traditional school entrances, which are often small and congested during rush hours, lacking space for parents to wait comfortably.
As the campus’s core public open space, this area hosts extracurricular activities such as calligraphy and painting exhibitions, flea markets, and more. Its continuous arch-shaped structure serves as the school’s spiritual fortress.
The north side serves as the exclusive entrance and exit for primary school students, while the south side is designated for junior high students. These access points can be adjusted or closed based on the school’s management needs.
△ Perspective of Mount Huangshan Avenue Primary School Entrance
The “super shared roof” supports the campus’s slow-traffic system. Its undulating micro-terrain and engaging courtyard landscapes become vibrant hubs for students after class.
The courtyard and elevated structures optimize natural light and ventilation, while providing shelter from wind and rain during adverse weather.
△ Single building
This project breaks away from traditional teaching spaces by effectively integrating informal learning areas and other campus-wide functions under the “super shared roof,” forming a “shared education complex.” This design reflects a forward-thinking approach to the evolving needs of education.
△ Single building
△ Shared Education Complex
Project Drawings
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Elevation drawing
Project Information
Project Name: Chongqing Baixi Campus Nine Year Integrated School Plan
Architectural Firm/Company: China Machinery United Engineering Co., Ltd. Architectural Creation and Urban Development Research Institute
Office Website: __AI_ST_URL_0__
Contact Email: 531727487@qq.com
Company Location: No. 17 Yuzhou Road, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing
Construction Status: Under construction (expected completion: end of 2021)
Building Area: 65,890 square meters
Project Address: Jintong Avenue, Yubei District, Chongqing
Principal Architects: Huang Ying, Yu Dingjun, Luo Fei, Bai Juan
Design Team: Li Guantong, Chen Mei, Tang Xilin, Luo Jiarui, Wang Sihan
Client: Chongqing Yugao Xinxing Technology Development Co., Ltd
Structural Design: Huang Xinyu, Wang Tao
Water Supply and Drainage Design: Yi Xiaoqi, Yan Hai
Electrical Design: Wang Zaijun, Li Yongqiang
HVAC Design: Jiang Enhua, Yuan Mingfu
Rendering Company: Chongqing Stone and Stone Architecture Performance
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