Throughout the ages and across the world, people have never been shy in their appreciation of beautiful architecture. The German poet Goethe compared architecture to frozen music, and world renowned architect Leoh Ming Pei saw it as a form of social art.
So what does a school building mean for a child?
Perhaps in the eyes of China's post-70s-90s generation, a simple room, a few desks and a blackboard formed the image of a school building.
But today, with technological innovation bringing more advanced facilities and equipment, and global integration bringing innovation in design concepts, schools are building more than just a space for students to attend classes; especially for k12 schools, they need to consider multiple dimensions such as functionality, practicality, humanities and arts, and the combination of interior and exterior to create a comprehensive environment that can meet the various needs of teachers and students.
*Click the Video to Check School's Construction
With a prime location in the geometric centre of the Greater Bay Area, Ardingly College Zhongshan drew inspiration from the century-old architecture of Ardingly College, UK and invited Mr. Alan Wang, of EVA Architects and former chief designer (education projects) of Perkins-Will, a world-renowned architectural firm, is an Australian and British Royal Certified Architect who served as the chief designer for our school. The design is based on a new concept of 'micro-city', which is the core of the school community.
Follow us today as we 'step inside' ACZS and learn about the different functional centres of this 'micro-city'.
*The following images are all design sketch
Using a stone-by-stone mentality to pile up, architecture never reaches the depths of beauty and tension.
Inspired by the Guggenheim Museum, the world's most famous private museum of modern art, ACZS gives a new definition to the fusion of art and education in the Innovation Center by integrating different functional areas such as the Central Art Gallery, Auditorium, Makers Space, Library and Shared Space through a spiral flowing floor-by-floor design.
The Central Art Gallery, which wraps around the building, speaks vividly of the collision of classical and modern art, while the splendid ceiling and eclectic columns translate the silent art into a formal language. This is the Central Art Gallery, where the art area is embedded in the public space of the school, evoking the resonance of art in the young learners as they pass by each day.
The large Auditorium will be home to over 550 people in the future. The professional wood-grained acoustic panels, sound-absorbing panels and acoustic carpets create a world-class stage for the performers who will take to the stage. If you look at the walls on both sides, the delicate cross-fibre material is like the interdiv of Chinese and Western cultures, a metaphor for the national confidence and global perspective that the children will gain here.
A vision of the future and a specialisation in science and technology are naturally overlaid in four Maker Spaces with different functions. A richly layered, futuristic indoor space will help stimulate learners' innovative thinking, while professional-grade teaching equipment will provide students with a foundation for their scientific and creative research, better helping them to embrace the future era.
It is a journey of growth, with over 50,000 original Chinese and English books serving as a clockwork of the years, the wrap around wooden shelves and floor-to-ceiling windows are the best witnesses. As children explore this Library, they will discover the harmony of white and brown of the background, and the warm sunlight that gathers into intimate company.
Each floor of the Innovation Center has been reserved for over 200 square metres of Shared Space. whiteboards, multi-functional tables, as well as the Ardingly's style and diverse facilities will greatly support the bold collision of students' minds in the open public space.
Instead of building a venue simply to meet demand, ACZS has created a three-dimensional Sports Center with a span of nearly six levels through an advanced understanding of spatial layout, thus providing a 'multi-dimensional' physical exercise experience for students. This design is a radical departure from tradition and allows for the organic integration of multiple sports, including swimming, fencing, basketball, volleyball, running, fitness, tennis and etc.
The tiered Indoor Suspended Track runs through the surrounding areas of the Sports Center from the 3rd to the 5th floor. The open space and unique layered design brings different sports together in the same space, greatly stimulating the adrenal glands of future athletes and continuing to excite children's enthusiasm and curiosity for sport.
Underground Swimming Pool
The school's Swimming Pool is located on the ground floor, in keeping with the optimistic and resilient spirit of sport. With the large space on the basement level one, the children are not only able to move freely through the 25m heated pool with 6 lanes, but also have a separate shower room and competition training room to provide an excellent starting point for their sporting dreams.
Multi-function Indoor Stadium
The large and dynamic space gives the Indoor Stadium more function, it can be freely changed like a kaleidoscope into 3 indoor basketball courts, 2 indoor volleyball courts and 4 fencing training courts ...
The Outdoor Sport Area mainly consists of a 400m running track, a FIFA standard turf football pitch, a professionally designed climbing wall and a basketball court, which is the perfect venue to arouse children's sporting instincts and competitive spirit.
The Academic Building's architectural design is a return to the basics. Starting with the abandonment of elaborate interior decorations, ACZS uses futuristic and modern design and inspired by nature to create a comfortable and complex learning space. The high balance between 'learning' and 'break' brings together the glory of knowledge and the wisdom of life in one space, leaving plenty of room for imagination and exploration for students and teachers.
The primary, middle and high school classrooms are designed in light colours of eco-friendly latex paint, with the added clarity of daylight and simplicity, showing the school's grasp of design detail everywhere. The diverse teaching tools and intelligent equipment also cater to the different learning needs of learners.
Between the Academic Building and the Dormitory, there is a Grand Staircase. The light on both sides and the wood grain floor redefine the limits of learning. It is destined to become the most memorable place for learners in the future.
The Living Quarter, open to all students and teachers, is deeply embedded between the floors and presents a strong sense of humanity from a distance. The design creates a medium for informal learning and social activities for the children, which in turn helps to prepare them for the challenges of the future society.
ACZS has cleverly located the Canteen on the basement level one of the Academic Building and Dormitory to create a dining and lounge space of over 3,000 square feet.
The exquisite fusion of Chinese and Western cuisine, over 1,400 dining places and the lightness of the mosaic tiles and eco-friendly emulsion paint make it an anchor point for both the eyes and the palate of diners.
Lin Yutang once said, ’The best building should be like this, we are inside it without knowing where the nature terminates or the arts starts.'
Perhaps when you actually stand in this 'micro-city', which has already won the Golden Bund Award and the MUSE Design Award, you will suddenly discover the meaning of campus architecture: the future, nature and education are blurred here, as if the architecture is part of the environment, as if the environment is born for the architecture, and the architecture is built for the future.
As a 'micro-city', ACZS is not only made up of distinctive functional buildings, but also unique outdoor spaces and dormitory that will provide the children with an inspiring education throughout their 15 years of growth. You’re welcome to follow our WeChat Official Account and to further experience the charm of ACZS’s construction!
