Education and Art Community
The Education Forum at Dongqian Lake in Ningbo is a vibrant community that includes a conference center, hotel, art museum, and residential buildings. Reflecting the owner’s passion for education and art collection, the project places equal emphasis on both fields. Specially designed are four “workshop houses” created for visiting scholars and artists, combining living and working spaces to support extended research and creative activities.
Three of the four residential buildings were initially conceptualized by Zhang Yonghe in the early 1990s, before any owners or sites were assigned. The design challenges the boundary between classicism and modernism. These “paper buildings” represent a serious architectural study focused on space — a core aspect of architecture — while also offering practical, buildable solutions. The mansion’s unique design context integrates these buildings into educational forums centered on art research discussions.
Exploring the spatial prototypes of these houses serves as an experiment in architectural space. The design embraces an open approach to work-life integration, driving the spatial form as the core design motivation. Four distinct spatial prototypes emerge, each with unique characteristics that reflect imagined experiences and lifestyles. Based on their most prominent architectural features, the houses are named: Corridor Facing House, Glass Cross House, Beam Up House, and Flip Roof House.
The Corridor Facing House design divides a symmetrical volume along its central axis, pulling the halves outward and placing a water body between them. Open corridors run along the lower levels on both sides. These opposing corridors span the water, creating semi-outdoor living spaces. Residents cross the water courtyard daily to move between their residence and study, turning this journey into a ritual. Sitting under the porch and chatting with friends across the water is a cherished pleasure, transforming the porch into a space of human connection.
The Glass Cross House features a first-floor research room arranged like a windmill. This two-story glass structure is divided into four equal rooms by a transparent, cross-shaped double-layer curtain wall, each designated for living, dining, resting, and bathing. The cavity between the double layers connects both floors, creating an open yet segmented space. Residents can walk around the exterior glass walls, enjoying views of the surrounding water courtyards and glimpses of distant scenery through courtyard wall gaps in all four directions.
The Lailiang Shangzhai features a tall space functioning as a plastic arts workshop, flanked by two inward-facing massive porticos. A cross-shaped beam above the studio creates a skywalk. Within this mansion, the beam is central to creativity — residents can stand on it to view their work, hang creations from it, or enter the studio via the beam.
Flip Roof House
This house features a large space divided into two interconnected zones — work and residence — separated by an inverted sloping roof. Residents’ living and creative activities coexist almost within the same space. Visually, there is limited connection between the work and living areas on one side of the roof; however, residents remain constantly aware of the other’s presence regardless of their location. This mansion embodies both separation and integration.
Material Properties
Reinforced concrete is sculpted like clay to form pure spatial volumes. Using wooden templates, the exposed concrete surfaces retain texture, avoiding abstraction and expressing the material’s natural character.
Project Drawings
△ Model Diagram
△ Model Diagram
△ Model Diagram
△ Hand-drawn Drawing
△ General Layout Plan
△ Corridor Facing House
△ Glass Cross House
△ Entrance to Liangshang Mansion
△ Flip Roof House
Project Details
Architect: Extraordinary Architecture
Area: 1255m²
Year: 2022
Photographers: Li Keliang, Tian Fangfang
Lead Architects: Zhang Yonghe, Lu Lijia
Design Team: Liang Xiaoning, Huang Shuyi, Wu Zhuqing, Han Shukai, Zhang Min, He Zelin
Design Management: Zhejiang Huazhi Architectural Design Co., Ltd
Partner: China Architecture Shanghai Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd
Client: Ningbo Huamao Education and Culture Investment Co., Ltd
Location: Ningbo
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