The Future Train Roaming Guide Practice is like a train speeding towards the future—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but never stopping. In a child’s world, imagination acts as a “magic pot” that solves challenges and serves as a soothing balm for the heart. This time, we embark on an encrypted journey aboard the “Future” time-space train to explore what lies ahead. Through art practice and extracting reality from the virtual world, we nurture the future with the light of wisdom.
© DIKA bird’s-eye view of the surrounding environment
01 A Kindergarten that Witnesses Time and Space
© DIKA breaks the fixed rules of spatial symbols
Located beneath Haikou City’s East High-Speed Railway Station in Hainan Province, this project enjoys a humid, spring-like climate all year. As a key island city in southern China and an important Maritime Silk Road station, Haikou holds a vital transportation role. Leveraging the rich resources of Shanggao Education Group and integrating internationally leading research and domestic practical achievements, this kindergarten—established in 1994—forms the solid foundation of Shanggao Education Group.
© DIKA’s naturally warm spatial atmosphere
Considering the current educational policies and overall development environment in Hainan Province, this collaboration presents both challenges and unlimited opportunities for Shanggao Education Group and DIKA Architectural Design Center. Through this project’s transformation, we aim to explore new spatial paradigms for early childhood education and contribute to accelerating education development in Hainan.
© DIKA spatial flow dynamics
The site covers 10,800 square meters, with a building area of 9,280 square meters and an outdoor area of 8,770 square meters. The campus accommodates 38 teaching classes and up to 1,100 children. The landscape planning, interior design, and post-decoration were all conducted by DIKA Architectural Design Center. After two years of preparation, design, and construction, the project finally came to life.
© DIKA Reception Hall
From the moment you enter, the interior design framework is stripped to its essence. The dimensions of children, needs, and function merge with the real environment, creating an interior that resembles a “cosmic coordinate system.” The spatial facade and coordinate system reflect an angular deviation between reality and surrealism. The slowly rising roof chandelier perfectly mirrors the reception hall’s center at the far end, uniting architectural form and visual effect.
© DIKA Gallery Details
We aim to honor educators’ love for life and students by designing a kindergarten as surprising as opening a blind box—offering children fresh vitality and using imagination to create a future world.
© DIKA’s naturally warm spatial atmosphere
© DIKA generates dialogue in nothingness
Much like nature’s seemingly random yet orderly layout, this space holds subtle yet constant mysteries. Past, present, and future engage in a dialogue through light and shadow within the consciousness of emptiness. Perhaps the answers lie within these works.
02 Virtual and Real Worlds
© DIKA’s rich spatial scales
In this technologically advanced postmodern era, the purity of beauty demands both proper respect and perceptive understanding. This future realm belongs to children, transcending time and space. We challenge traditional enclosed spaces by creating a continuous geometric landscape with sculptural volume in the walls, balancing continuity and rupture.
The mysterious growth energy emerges as the most dynamic element within the landscape.
© The infinite possibilities of DIKA space
Inspired by simple geometric modularization, the design reorganizes spatial geometry into innovative, futuristic sculptures. It resembles a vast cosmic planet, accompanying children’s daily behaviors and perceptions in a way that feels both strange and familiar. This pure atmosphere fully unleashes perceptual energy, transcending materialism and providing children a unique experiential space.
© DIKA Geometric Modularization Practice
© DIKA Sculpture Sense and Flexibility
The exterior facade is crafted from geometric shapes of various sizes, separated and reassembled to create a translucent light and shadow effect with a distinctive overall form. This innovative, futuristic design features clean lines and clearly defined spatial blocks, delivering a highly textured and pure sense of unity. Through spatial perception-focused organization, it engages in dialogue with its surroundings and the city, challenging material spatial concepts while anticipating future lifestyles.
© DIKA’s rich spatial hierarchy
The children’s space, connected by flowing pathways, becomes an engaging play area. Stairs with child-scaled handrails help switch space usage comfortably. The slanting geometric form and the giraffe sculpture serve as iconic focal points, orienting key nodes with layered, interlocking structures while maintaining communication and connectivity across areas.
© DIKA’s Free Traffic Flow
The design balances orange and white tones, providing a subtle warm and cool contrast suitable for Haikou’s hot climate. This palette retains the vibrancy of orange without overwhelming the space. Skylights bring ample natural light deep into the interiors, creating a gentle transition and connection with the outdoors.
© DIKA folding is convenient and clear
Breaking from traditional enclosed spaces, a continuous geometric landscape is created vertically through symmetrical layouts, proportional divisions, and the interplay of real and virtual techniques, adding unique rhythm to the kindergarten’s design.
© DIKA corridor
03 Art Intervention in the ‘Bubble Universe’
© DIKA “Bubble Universe”
The “Bubble Universe” functions as a monumental sculpture, embedded unconventionally within the architectural cavity. Inside, spatial organization methods centered on perception engage in dialogue with the surrounding environment and urban forms.
© Balancing DIKA form and color
Organic breathing ports, formed by large and small holes, punctuate thick, solid block walls. The spatial shifts between these forms introduce richness, abstraction, and imagination unique to geometric shapes. This challenges traditional material space concepts while maintaining adaptability and flexibility within the ‘Bubble Universe.’
© DIKA Interior Details
White paint allows thick walls to appear light and floating, enhancing the perception of volume and spatial tension. The complexity of the space reveals its charm in this contrast.
© DIKA light and shadow endow space with infinite vitality
Time flies like a shuttle, freezing certain images forever in our memory. Different lighting, materials, and moods combine to create an extraordinary atmosphere between reality and fantasy, offering children a vibrant place to play and explore.
© DIKA’s playful children
04 Needs Both Nature and the Future
© DIKA Partial Aerial View of Children’s Activity Area
The design team incorporated an alien-themed IP story into the site, creating a children’s activity area filled with futuristic technology and cosmic charm. This included a unified, customized kindergarten IP design encompassing architecture, landscape, interiors, furnishings, and facilities. Analyzing the interests of various age groups, four main themes emerged: transportation, universe, adventure, and creativity. Under the large slide, a terrain climbing device surrounded by bubbles offers a playful space for crawling and hide-and-seek games.
© DIKA Diversified Gaming Atmosphere
© DIKA Children’s Adventure Area
From a limited indoor space, children are instantly immersed in an expansive outdoor world where they can easily switch between environments for endless adventures. Slides, crawlers, and other activity facilities are embedded throughout the landscape, breaking traditional outdoor kindergarten modes. A water theater creates a hydrophilic outdoor space, enhancing play opportunities.
© DIKA bird’s-eye view night view
Children love one lively, engaging story after another. A themed outdoor activity venue with a complete storyline encourages immersion and allows children to enjoy the experience of being the protagonist.
05 Pure World of Time and Space Condensation
© DIKA spiral staircase extends all the way
© DIKA Experience and Imagination
Considering Haikou’s local climate, classrooms are arranged in a staggered layout with reserved ventilation spaces. Interwoven geometric blocks create a visual interplay between children observing and being observed, promoting experimental and interactive experiences beyond everyday life. As volumes extend and evolve, spatial perception strengthens, with complex, logically interconnected functions.
© DIKA can freely walk indoors and outdoors
© DIKA undefined reading space
© DIKA offers a rich spatial experience
Through a non-inertial design approach and artistic aesthetics, the designer reintroduces the narratives of “regeneration” and “instinct” into the campus while preserving the original structure’s framework. Using minimalist techniques, an independent “small box” is created to organize flow lines, allowing children free and seamless indoor-outdoor movement.
© DIKA Public and Open
© DIKA Multi-functional Hall
© DIKA Children’s Spontaneous Games
The multifunctional hall serves as the core indoor space, connecting a 350-seat theater, five interest classrooms, and seven large classrooms. It supports activities such as receptions, communication, gatherings, and experience sharing, facilitating diverse teaching methods in public spaces.
06 Love and Hope Empower Growth
© DIKA Space Design Fun
Varied learning spaces inspire different learning modes. Through vibrant contrasting colors—orange, yellow, blue, and red—the environment encourages children’s interaction and communication, infusing the space with energy. This motivates exploration and learning, allowing perceptions, emotions, and memories to flow and evolve.
© DIKA Space Design Fun
The venue features numerous “fitness toys” that serve as primary recreational tools. Different physical activities bring joy, spark curiosity, and encourage children to move playfully, boosting their exercise without realizing it. This element of surprise fills the space with playful energy and vitality.
© DIKA curved semi-transparent glass
© DIKA light and shadow make space more layered
Thoughtfully arranged windows, natural light orientation, and a soft environment create a warm atmosphere. We aim to present a peaceful mood and imaginative freedom within the passage of time.
© DIKA Children’s Role Experience Area
© DIKA Class Unit
© DIKA LEGO Classroom
The character experience room, Lego room, and toy room hold many secrets about children. Integrated with Shanggao Kindergarten’s immersive curriculum, they awaken children’s love for learning and life, catering to their natural desire for discovery, exploration, and adventure. Classroom designs consider children’s habits and arrange functional classrooms for safety and convenience, creating a stimulating and comfortable environment for exploration.
© DIKA Children’s Library
Project Drawings
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Third floor plan
Project Information
Project Name: Shanggao Kindergarten
Owner: Hainan Shanggao Education
Area: 10,800 square meters
Location: Haikou, Hainan
Interior Design: DIKA Architectural Design Center
Landscape Planning: DIKA Architectural Design Center
Main Creative Team: Ou Jiyong, Wang Yaguang, Tang Shengyan, Ma Lu, Wang Pengtao, Hexin, Cui Yingnan, Wang Mudan
Photography Team: Leon
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