Our design team mainly consists of parents with school-age children. From the outset, we viewed this school design as a valuable opportunity to focus on the psychological comfort and experience of children. Our goal was to create a space that feels free and natural for the students.
Shanghai Fushan Tangcheng Foreign Language Primary School is located at the intersection of Yupan North Road and Peide Road in Pudong New Area. The project accommodates 40 primary school classes across four above-ground floors and one underground level, with a total construction area of 23,000 square meters. The design integrates teaching and auxiliary spaces by enclosing the food transportation building, teaching building, and office building into one large shared area, forming a semi-enclosed campus.
Composite Public Space
Primary school students, aged 6 to 11, undergo significant psychological changes during these formative years. Younger children (ages 1-3) require safe and comfortable spaces to transition from home to school, while older students seek more social and collective activities. Their spatial needs vary widely.
To address this, we created a central composite public space where upper and lower floors are closely linked and can transform into one another. Multiple green courtyards, along with indoor and outdoor staircases, connect these spaces across floors, resulting in an area with diverse spatial scales.
The lower level of this composite space is designed to evoke childlike innocence. By carefully considering ceiling height and the radius of the top openings, we ensured ample sunlight coverage. This semi-indoor area offers a secure environment, especially for younger students.
The second floor serves as an open, outdoor public area featuring a rooftop garden dominated by greenery. This vibrant and continuous outdoor space provides students with a joyful environment where they can experience seasonal and climatic changes firsthand. Children of all ages can find their own sanctuary on campus.
During our campus follow-up, teachers shared that this central composite space is invaluable. Its flexible and undefined functions encourage imagination among students and teachers alike. The area has become a social hub, a trendy street, a reading and discussion zone, an outdoor theater, and a viewing platform.
During ten-minute breaks, many children can be seen exercising and playing in the elevated first-floor space. Given shelter from wind and rain, they naturally organize diverse and engaging activities. On sunny days, the large platform welcomes children running and playing freely. Their needs do not focus on formal sports facilities but on informal, interesting spaces that inspire participation.
Building Facade
The school’s facade adopts a simple, large-block composition reminiscent of elementary students’ graffiti — straightforward and abstract. The fully coated exterior material evokes a sense of rustic beauty, warmth, and safety.
Touchable Sponge City
The entire campus incorporates sponge city design principles, including rainwater segregation, rain gardens, sunken green spaces, and permeable pavement. These features prioritize student safety while integrating their activity needs, serving as an excellent example of sustainable design education.
This project was selected as a 2021 Shanghai Sponge City Construction Demonstration Model Project.
We hope that children will engage in endless discussions, free imagination, and joyful creation within our thoughtfully designed, stimulating architectural spaces. Design is shaping the future of education, just as education is shaping design.
Project Drawings
△ General Layout Plan
△ First Floor Plan
△ Second Floor Plan
△ Third Floor Plan
△ Fourth Floor Plan
Project Information
Architect: Huajian Group Shanghai Architectural Design and Research Institute
Area: 23,000 m²
Project Year: 2022
Photographer: Lin Song, Three Thousand Images
Manufacturers: Beibei Glass, Nippon Paint, Besderband
Lead Architects: Su Chang, Tan Chunhui
Project Manager: Tan Chunhui
Design Team: Li Mei, Yang Shaohui, Ding Dishu, Shen Yifei, Wu Yue
Structural Design: Bao Zuo, Cen Yikan, Ning Nan, Li Jinwei, Yang Yang
Mechanical and Electrical Design: Wang Hailiang, Zhou Haishan, Gan Hong, Ma Liguo, Guo Jing, Deng Xingmei, Yu Zhengqing, Yu Mengyue, Yang Boli
Sponge Green Building Energy Conservation Project: Xu Feng, Pan Jianing, Yan Yan, Sun Bin, Sun Yuanchao, Hou Mengtian, Huang Lisha, Shen Qihan
BIM Specialists: Wang Wanping, Liu Wen, Wu Fanqian, Li Qin, Zhu Guangxiang, Yang Liuzhi
Landscape Design: Zhou Yu, Dong Yue, Liu Yuzhou, Zheng Jinyu, Pan Jiahui
Construction Party: Shanghai Pudong Tangcheng Investment Development Co., Ltd
Construction Unit: Zhejiang Guotai Construction Group Co., Ltd
Location: Shanghai
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